Nara, the Blind Shinobi
by Emeraldarcher21
Summary: Nara is a calm, yet troubled woman that Kakashi found in the woods after the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. Finding her at the age of eight, Kakashi and the Third Hokage are interested in why she excels in chakra control, and is already able to manipulate wind nature. What truly interests them is the fact that she is blind and she is a jinchuuriki of a creature that isn't a Bijuu.
1. Bloodied and Broken

**| "And though she be but little, she is _fierce_." | William Shakespeare**

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.:Kakashi:.

Guy, Yamato, and I were on this mission together. We were particularly quiet on this mission, even Guy. Maybe it was because the Kyuubi attacked Konoha just last night. Today, the village will be having a funeral for the Fourth Hokage and his wife. It's sad that their son will never know how amazing his parents were.

Guy landed next to me and Yamato landed in another branch. "Is this our area?" Guy asked, looking down into the depths of the forest.

I nodded. "Yeah. We're here to accumulate the damage that the Kyuubi caused."

"It's just a forest, so why does it matter about the damage?" Yamato questioned.

"Really, we're here to find any fallen shinobi and dispose of the bodies, so that enemies don't get hold of them."

"So where do we start, Kakashi?" Guy asked.

It's such a wide area. I sighed, "Might as well start over there and then expand our search until we reach the waterfalls."

We began the search, and even though we ran into each other often, we didn't find anyone from our village. I heard the falls coming closer and I began to feel this was a waste of my time.

I paused when I sensed something ahead. A corpse wouldn't have a chakra presence, so is this an injured shinobi? I walked closer and parted the bushes. I looked down and was surprised by the sight in my eyes.

A young girl lied on the ground with a little wolf beside her. Guy and Yamato walked beside me to see what caught my attention.

"Is she from our village?" Yamato asked.

I walked forward. "I'm not sure." I bent down to one knee and reached my hand out to her. I jerked back when the wolf snapped at me. I looked at my hand and saw blood. "Aren't you a feisty one?" I picked him up swiftly by his fur. He yapped and snapped like crazy, but he didn't have the reach to bite me again.

I handed the little wolf to Guy. The wolf bit down into Guy's flesh, but Guy simply flicked him on the nose. The wolf took a step away from guy in his hand in confusion of what just happened to him. Then, Guy picked him up gently by the back of his fur.

I bent back down by the little girl's side and examined her face. "She could be from an enemy village." Yamato spoke.

"But what if she's not?" I countered as I looked up at him. We stared at each other for a few moments. I looked away first. "Look at her clothes. They have bloodstains all over her. From what I conclude, she's been living in the forest for a while."

"What if it was from the Kyuubi's attack?" Yamato persisted.

"The Kyuubi attacked last night. Her clothes look like they haven't been washed in at least one week." I raised her body off the ground slightly and nearly dropped her from what I saw.

"L-Look at those marks!" Guy gasped. Even Yamato flinched from the sight. It looked as if she had been beaten multiple times on her back. All the marks were closed, so I assumed none of them were from the Kyuubi's attack. I pulled her close to my body and fully lifted her up. I barely felt her heart beating.

The wolf began growling at me. Guy flicked its nose again. We jumped to the trees and began our way back to Konoha.

.:Kakashi:.

"Does she really need her hands to be bound?" I asked.

Inoichi glanced over his shoulder. "Since we don't know where she is from, then yes. Trust me, I don't like it either, but we have to take these precautions."

"Understood." I said as I looked at her. We were transporting her from the hospital to the Intel Department. Guy still held the wolf in his hands. The little ball of fur had begun to calm down since we arrived in Konoha.

She flinched in my arms as I sat her on the ground. I watched as her eyes began to open. Again, I was shocked. She had blue, blind eyes.

"Ah, she's awake." The Third said as he laid his hand on her shoulder. Fear spread all over her eyes from his action. Her body reacted in punching the Hokage in the jaw as she stumbled away to the other side of the hallway. Her breathing was heavy and fast as she took in the situation.

Her eyes narrowed in on me, even though she couldn't see me. I heard footsteps running toward us. The little girl glanced to them, and ran off in the other direction.

The Third , Guy, and I ran off after her. She navigated through the hospital and we followed her outside. For being so young, she had incredible speed. She stumbled out the doors.

"Kota!" She yelled out. We exited behind her as the wolf yelped his presence. She turned on a dime and darted toward Guy. She rammed her right shoulder into his gut as her hands picked up the wolf. She leapt over his body and began scaling the wall.

She's so young and she can already control her chakra so well.

"You alright, Guy?" I asked.

He regained himself and turned to watch her scale the wall. "I'm fine, but that sure did surprise me."

Shikaku stood beside us. "Capture her, but be gentle. By the looks of it, she's only acting this way because she's terrified."

All four of us rushed after her. We raced after her on the rooftops. I watched, as her injuries were made known to her as her legs gave way under her. Her body fell from the roof and plummeted to the water by the building. The four of us landed and were about to jump in after here, but we stopped.

The water separated at the spot where the little girl was. Was she manipulating her chakra to wind?! The water crashed around her, the next second, it was separated again.

She fell to her knees exhausted as the water swallowed her up again. I saw terror all over her face. I dove in after her. I gripped her shirt and pulled her out of the water. She gasped for air as it entered into her lungs. I dragged her onto the bank. She regained herself to her knees and backed away with fear in her eyes. Was it of the water or me?

She was drenched head to toe as her back tapped the tree behind her. Her breathing became faster and heavier.

The wolf jumped into the girl's arms. "Nara, it's okay. These people are nice." Still, her eyes were fixated on the water. "Nara?" The little wolf asked in a concerned voice.

I stood from the ground soaked. "You caused quite a ruckus, Nara." I stated nonchalantly. Her eyes darted toward me, but she couldn't see me. "That is your name, right?" I asked as I cocked my head to one side.

The fear in her eyes began to fade away as she nodded her head once.

"You're in Konoha." The Third replied as he walked forward. Nara, in turn, took the same amount of steps away.

"Why am I here?" She questioned with a low voice.

Guy spoke. "We found you in the forest after the Kyuubi attacked. You were lying on the ground with blood-soaked clothes."

Her head lowered in the memory. "Kyuubi?"

Inoichi scratched his head. "Nara, we have a few questions for you. We need you to come back to the Department with us." She looked up slightly and I saw hesitation. A smile escaped my lips when I saw her blush from her stomach growling.

The Third laughed. "You can have plenty of food and drink."

Her head looked fully up and I saw a little smile. She actually has a nice smile. With the wolf in her arms, she took three steps forward to the Hokage. She bowed slightly at the waist. "I'm sorry for hitting you earlier." She rose up, faced Guy, and bowed again. "And I'm sorry for ramming into you as well."

I asked to examine the interrogation, and the Hokage said it was fine. Nara was allowed time to bathe and change clothes. I wonder how long it had been since she had a decent bath.

Shikaku brought in a tray with food on it. He placed it on the table, and Nara sat calmly as he poured her some water. She reached forward and felt around on the tray. She patted a specific fruit several times. "What is this?"

"A mango." Shikaku replied. She picked it up and took a very small bite. She chewed it thoroughly and swallowed. She waited for an entire minute. She smiled and ate another bite.

"You like it?" Shikaku asked with a smile. Nara nodded in return with a slightly bigger smile than she had before.

"Alright, Nara," Inoichi began, "I'm going to ask you some questions. I need you to be truthful with me about them."

Nara pulled her knees up to her chest in the chair and waited for the questions.

"What country are you from?"

"I don't remember." She replied.

Inoichi hesitated, but decided to continue. "Alright. How old are you?"

"Eight."

"What clan do you belong to?"

All expression faded. Her face was lowered to the floor. "I… I don't know."

She may have memory loss from the Kyuubi attack, or that would at least be my guess. Inoichi studied her while he asked several other questions. I watched him glance towards the Third as he rose from his chair. He opened and passed through the door. Shikaku walked in to keep her busy.

"Your thoughts?" The Third asked Inoichi.

He shrugged. "I would say that she has lost her memory… but I'm not sure if I buy that."

"Why do you think?"

"People who lose their memory normally forget their names as well."

"But the wolf spoke her name before she ever said anything." I countered.

"I didn't know that information. Anyway, I would still like to search inside her mind to see if she is hiding something."

"Do you think that she's from another country?" I asked. Maybe I should've listened to Yamato back in the forest. But was I just supposed to leave her there to die?

"It's a possibility, but I highly doubt she's a spy."

.:Kakashi:.

I stood beside the Hokage as Inoichi invaded the young woman's mind. She sat there unconscious, but I could clearly see images of the marks on her back appear in my mind. I wanted to know how she got those marks.

Inoichi backed away from the jutsu. He was sweating and panting from using his chakra. Normally he isn't this worn out. He rose from the ground and looked over to us.

"She, uh… well, she has a Bijuu in her." She was just like Kushina, and now Kushina's son.

"Which one?" The Third asked.

"Well… it's not one of the Tailed-Beasts, but it a beast with a huge amount of chakra."

"What form does it take?"

"A dragon."

"So it's the one that was close the Father of Ninja," the Hokage mumbled. "What else did you find?" the Hokage persisted.

"She's not from the Fire Country, but it's unsure what country she came from."

Shikaku sighed. "With a creature sealed inside of her, we can assume that she was rejected by her clan and village."

There was a moment of silence. My eyes locked with the Hokage's. "What will you do with her, sir?" I asked.

"We will allow her to stay in Konoha, but I want an ANBU watching her at all times."

"And then what do we do with her when she isn't suspicious? Do we enroll her into the Academy or what?" Inoichi asked.

"She already understands chakra control," Shikaku spoke. "That's incredibly rare for someone to be able to do that at her age. Even Kakashi was still learning chakra control at that age."

I shrugged. It was true. Controlling chakra is a difficult task to start out. At least I had my father around to teach me that before he died. Looking at her, I wondered who taught her.

.:Kakashi:.

The Third Hokage and I walked across the yard. About an hour ago, he sent a message for me to meet him in this spot.

"Kakashi, how have you been doing?"

"Fine, sir."

"That's great." He said as he stared in the distance.

"Is there something you wish to talk about, sir?"

He looked at me like I had him all figured out. "Actually I do. I know this may sound bizarre, but you remember that young girl your team saved?"

I thought back to that night. My team found her bloodied and broken on the ground. "Yeah. I remember." Even though I wished I didn't. That night replayed in my head often. It scares me to think what she went through to end up that way.

"Well, she was placed into the Academy."

"Really? They accepted her even in her condition?"

"Just because she's blind doesn't mean she's worthless."

"I didn't mean it like that… it's just… how will she commit to the tests and understand what the teacher teaches? On top of that, we know nothing about her or her previous village."

"Well, we enrolled her last year, and just like you, she graduated quickly."

"Are you serious? She was merely in the school for a year?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I still find it hard to believe, but I was there on the day she took the graduation test. Her teacher signed her for it, and everyone thought he was insane for letting her take it this early."

"But he wasn't insane?"

"Of course not." He chuckled. "He is incredibly wise. Anyway, I observed her as she took the test. Unlike everyone else, she took the test separately in another room."

"Was it an oral examination?"

"It was both."

"Both? But how did she read the test?"

He laughed from the thought. "Well, you see, she would infuse her chakra into the paper, and the chakra took the shapes and lines of what was on the paper. Since she wasn't always blind, she understood the words."

"Smart."

"Very. Also, the teacher requested she be put into a high level genin squad."

"And?"

"I considered it."

"Then why won't you?"

"She's still young. She has no family, and no one will really talk to her. I don't want her to get powerful and want to attack someone out of anger."

"From what I can tell, she's going to become strong no matter what. She's a good thinker."

"Yeah." He sounded distant in his words.

"What about the Chuunin exams?"

"The group I have assigned her in will be taking the next exams, unless she says no."

"By next, you mean in a year?"

"Yeah. The upcoming one is too close for her to be entered in it."

"Sir?"

"Yeah."

"If you don't mind me asking, why have you told me all this? She's just another child."

"You were part of the team that brought her here. I thought you might want to know about how she is doing."

"What about the rest in the group?"

"You can tell them if you like." He smiled to me and left.

.:Nara:.

I walked down the street towards the school. Last week after I took the graduation test, the Third Hokage said that I would meet up with my sensei in front of the school building. The more steps I took, the more I thought about what my sensei would be like.

I stopped in front of the schoolhouse. I heard the swing swaying with the wind. The birds chirped happily on their branches. I could sense a man walk towards me. I turned to him and raised my head in respect.

"Are you Nara?" He asked with a deep voice.

"I am."

He paused for a moment. I assumed he was observing me. "What clan are you from?"

"I have no clan, sir." I replied.

He sighed. "My name is Hanaru Oda. I am your sensei. I am strict and expect a lot from you since you were assigned to my team, got it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Just because you're blind, don't expect special treatment." He said with a harsh voice.

"I prefer it that way, sensei."

"Good. Now, follow me." He turned around and jumped to the trees. I heard where he landed and judged the distance from where I was. Once I assumed I calculated correctly, I followed after him. I made my calculations in three seconds, and I landed on the branch easily.

He continued jumping from branch to branch. I listened for the contact of his feet and the limbs, and I judged where I should land. After traveling for about two kilometers, he bypassed the upcoming branches and landed on the ground. I sensed two other presences near him. I landed lightly on the ground.

"Who is she, sensei?" Asked one of them.

"She's part of our team now. Kuro, Haru, this is Nara."

One of them took a step towards me. "But, Oda-sensei… she's blind."

"That is a fact, Haru."

"You mean we get stuck with the weakest person who graduated this year?! She's not even our age, so she's already weaker than us. On top of that, she's a girl. And the worst part, she's blind." Kuro said in a hateful tone.

I merely stood there while they picked me a part verbally. What was I to say? I am younger than them. I am blind. I am a girl.

"She's the youngest to graduate the academy since Kakashi-san. Hold your tongues."

"So she's smart. Big deal." Haru stated. "Being a ninja means having power."

"I disagree with your statement." I interjected. They all stared at me for a few seconds.

"Disagree with what?" Kuro asked.

"That being a ninja means having power. I disagree."

"How am I wrong?! That's just what you weak links say to make you feel better."

"I didn't say you were wrong, I merely said that I disagreed." I said in a calm voice.

"Then what does being a shinobi mean to you, Nara?" Oda asked.

"To me, it means protecting people, whether they deserve it or not. Laying down your self in order to save another. But it's not just protecting. It's the desire to protect is what makes a shinobi strong. That is what I think, sir."

"But without power," Haru persisted, "a shinobi would die quickly."

"It's the desire to help someone that keeps the shinobi alive enough protect."

"Then let's see you withstand my attack!" Yelled out Kuro. I felt him run towards me. His hand was balled into a fist. He's serious.

As he crept close enough to attack, he swung his fist. I sidestepped to my right as I heard Oda catch Kuro's fist. Kuro gasped as he stared at sensei.

"Good dodge, Nara." Oda said to me. "Kuro, learn to control your self. She is your teammate now."

Kuro grunted, but he seemed to calm down. Oda let go of his fist and took a step back. "Let's start today's training." He said.

.:Nara:.

An hour prior to the meeting, I crawled into the vents above the room and waited for the meeting to begin. Kota sat in my lap as people began to enter through the door. I recognized Oda's chakra along with the Hokage's, but I didn't know the others very well. I knew they were all jounins.

"Let's begin since everyone is here." The Hokage spoke. "We are going to discuss whether Nara is allowed to stay part of Konoha."

My heart dropped. _Whether I can stay or not? I thought this was merely an update of me being in a team…_

Oda stepped forward. "I personally don't like her being here, Third." My heart dropped deeper. I thought Oda was rough on me to help improve me, but I guess not.

"Explain." The Hokage said.

"She isn't part of Konoha. She's from another village, clan, and country. Doesn't that scare any of you?" He questioned to the room. "She can easily sense where I am even when I suppress my chakra as much as I can. Also, there are times that I can't even sense her chakra when she's standing right in front of me!"

A few of the jounins murmured to one another. This wasn't looking good.

"She is blind." A jounin near the back spoke up. I remember him chasing me the day they brought me here. I believe they called him Shikaku.

"And your point?" Odar challenged.

"When one sense is crippled, the others magnify. It just makes sense."

"I want her to stay." The Hokage spoke.

"Well, I don't want her on my team." Oda replied hatefully. "I've trained talented shinobi my whole time of being a jounin, she is a blind girl that has no talent to be a great shinobi."

I held my breath. The words of my father echoed in my head. _Talented? She's a monster! Just leave this worthless child alone._

"No talent?" My old teacher spoke up. "She was top of her class in a year."

"She's smart, but she isn't to my standards."

"Aren't you being a little too hard on her?" A man I didn't know spoke.

"I'm a hard teacher. I won't go easy on her simply for what she's been through. You don't know her story! Maybe she her village loved her, but she was just too full of herself to want to stay there. She came here seeking sympathy and that's what you guys give her."

My stomach plummeted to the ground. I felt sick. Kota growled lightly in my lap. I pulled my hand over his mouth. Being caught now would not be a good thing.

Inoichi entered the conversation. "I believe you are being inconsiderate, Oda. If she wanted our pity, wouldn't she talk about how bad her life was?"

"There you go showing sympathy over that girl." Oda spat.

"I'm giving her a chance." Inoichi countered with an icy tone. "Something that you haven't given her."

"You haven't trained with her." Oda quickly added.

My blood ran cold as I heard the vent shriek lightly. Everyone below me fell quiet. The vent door dropped from under me, and my body tumbled toward the ground. No sound of surprise escaped my throat.

I landed on my feet, but the impact filled a jarring into my legs. Kota sat in my arms and jumped to the ground to stand between Oda and I. I had been found out sadly. I breathed heavily from being the center of attention.

I felt a jounin's chakra react to the surprise. He slipped out a kunai and attempted to grab my arm and pull me into a hostage situation. I lunged forward from his grasp and turned in mid-air to face him. He didn't seem unsettled by the turn of events.

I landed lightly and he sliced his weapon at me.

"Step back everyone!" He called out.

He attacked again with his kunai. "Wait! I'm sorry!" I yelled out as I dodged. "I don't want to fight a comrade like this!"

He sheathed his kunai, but his chakra flowed to his right hand. He changed it to lightning. The sound made me cringe from how intensifying it was, but everyone else seemed unfazed by the noise.

He lodged himself toward me. The best nature against lightning is wind. I focused the chakra into my hand and changed it to wind nature. I focused it into my left hand to neutralize his lightning. I stood my ground as he brought his hand closer to me. I lifted my hand to greet his. There was a loud clash of the elements and the lightning sound stopped. He stood in front of me and didn't make another attempt to move.

I backed away a few steps away from him. His attention averted to Oda. "No talent, huh?" All eyes switched from me to Oda. I automatically took another step back. Kota growled at my teacher.

I could feel Oda's hard eyes piercing through me. "She's practically worthless on missions." He added. "She afraid of water." Without warning, his chakra flowed through him. Fear engulfed my very being as water surrounded me.

"Sensie, please!" I yelled through the water. I was trapped in this vortex unable to move or breathe. Just like _that_ night. Rope tied all around me while I was thrown into a river to die.

I attempted to move against my boundaries, but it was to no avail. I was terrified. I struggled against his jutsu. Why was Oda doing this to me?

I felt Kota's presence in Oda's hand. "Stop it!" Kota barked at my sensei. "You're making her remember!"

"Remember what?" Oda asked with a laugh. "I thought she lost her memory?"

Kota's anger rose in his small voice. "They threw her in the water to drown! She was tied up and almost died!"

"Oda, that's enough!" The Hokage called out from his seat. I couldn't breathe. Everything around me was closing in. Words echoed in my head… _you're worthless. You could never be a shinobi. Leave her. Knock her out and we'll drop her in the river. _It was cold in the water, much like it is now.

Wind chakra flowed through my whole body and exerted itself without signs. It broke Oda's jutsu as my body fell to the ground. I was hyperventilating. My teacher watched me with surprise in his eyes. Kota jumped to my side.

"Nara! Are you okay?"

_Worthless. Leave her be. Let her drown. Beat her. Worthless. A monster._

"How did you break from my jutsu?!" Oda asked harshly. "Answer me!" I didn't answer. My breathing began to calm. Everyone was watching me…

Oda reached down and gripped me forcefully off the floor. "Answer me, Nara!" He held me off the ground. It was painful. My blind eyes stared right into his. He was just like my father. Nothing was different.

I looked away. "Why do you care? You're just like _him_ in every other aspect. Just tell me I'm worthless and be on your merry way." The words left my mouth without my consent. I was bitter about this matter, and I wished I had a calmer mind before I said those words.

"_Him?_" He questioned. He tossed me to the ground. I found my footing to stop me from falling all the way down. Kota rushed to my side and growled at him.

"No one of significance." I replied. That was the same sentence my father used when we had guests over.

.:Nara:.

The next day, I walked into the open area and found Kuro and Haru already practicing. Oda stood by the side of the forest and watched as I entered the area. "You're late." He stated.

"Apologies, sensei." I replied without looking to him. Kota walked beside me with his head downcast as well. I knew that if he raised his head, he would let his anger loose, and we didn't need that.

"A shinobi should always be on time." Kuro spewed out as he hit the post. Haru said nothing.

Kuro continued in his rage. "A shinobi isn't a blind little girl. A shinobi is someone who is actually useful on missions. I don't know how you made it this far, Nara, but you're a joke." He kept punching the post.

I heard Kota growl deeply beside me. "What are you trying to say, Kuro?"

He flung his foot up and unearthed the post. He turned to face me. "You're not one of us!" He yelled out. "You're not part of this village or this team. No one wants you here. You're a nuisance and a laughing stock in the village. They look at you and find you so pathetic. You don't even remember your true village. But hey, it's good because they wouldn't even want you!"

A tear fell down my cheek without my consent. How could I let his words affect my aching heart like this? Even though his words hurt, they were the undeniable truth.

I heard even more disgust in his voice than before. "And a shinobi doesn't show emotion like that."

"You're wrong." I stated as I raised my head up to his eyes. "Your village simply assumed that I don't recall anything about where I'm from, but it's merely because I wouldn't allow them into my past." I turned around to go back the way I came. I looked over my shoulder so that he could hear me. "I remember everything."

"Nara." Oda said as he placed his hand on my shoulder. "You shouldn't have held back this information from the Intel Department."

Is that all he cared about? He didn't care how I felt right now? I slipped away from his grasp and melted into the shadows. Kota followed behind me.

"Nara." Oda materialized in front of me. "Where will you go?"

"What do you mean?"

"I cannot permit you to leave the village."

He's just following orders. He never cared for me. How was I so easily deceived? I brushed past him. He gripped my arm tightly. "This is for the best, you know."

"You also believe what Kuro said?"

"I wouldn't say you're worthless, but you are quite the laughing stock of the village." He replied with a smile.

"I see."

"So now Team Four will be down a person." He laughed again and stood up straighter. "It's not like we'll be affected anyway."

I jerked my arm from his hold. He was cocky just like the men from my old village. "I graduated before they did. It seems you have forgotten that, Oda."

"It's Oda-sensei."

"No. It's not." I remarked and flashed into the trees. Kota lied in my hair and held on while I jumped from tree to tree.

.:Nara:.

I looked to my right, but of course I couldn't see anything. I did sense something, though. Kota walked up beside me. "Someone's there." He stated.

"Who's there?" I called out towards the forest's edge.

"I'm the Hokage." Came the voice. The Hokage? Why is he here?

I lowered my head. "Sorry for my rudeness. I didn't recognize your chakra."

"I took a chakra suppression pill to hide my chakra when I came here."

"Pardon me, Hokage-sama, but may I ask why you are here?"

"I have a few things to ask you about, Nara. Go ahead and sit down and we'll talk through this." I sat down with my legs crossed. Kota sat in my lap. The Hokage did the same beside me.

"Oda explained to me that you remembered your village, but didn't inform the Intel Department. Is this true?"

I gripped my hands. I could lie and fool them, hopefully, but what good will that do? If I say that I do remember, then he'll hand me over to them and they'll examine my memories again.

"Yes, sir. I remember."

"When did you get your memory back?" He questioned.

I pulled my knees to my chest. "I never forgot."

"I see…"

"Am I going to be asked to leave Konoha?" I asked with sadness. They took me in without knowing who I truly was. Even if I don't have a place to live, this place is my home.

I felt his eyes examine me for a moment. "Now why would I make you do that?"

Is this a trick question? Should I answer?

"The Chuunin Exams are coming up. Oda's team is being entered. For anyone to pass, the whole team has to be present for the first two parts of the exam. Understood?"

"Why should I enter? I'm too young, and everyone will see me as an easy target." I leaned backed and recrossed my legs. "Why should I do what's best for Kuro and Haru after what all has happened? Seems kind of one-sided to me."

The Hokage chuckled. "It's who you are, Nara. You're a person who will do what's best for the majority. Whether you think they deserve it or not, that's who you are."

I pulled my hood over my head to hide myself. "Doesn't seem like it's doing much good for me, Hokage."

"Well, let's see… you've passed the academy within a year. You're entered for the Chuunin exams at the age of ten. That's not something to take lightly."

"But I'm blind. People look at me and figure that I'm worthless and laughable. All Kuro and Haru will get from the exams is being the team with the blind girl."

"I see it as you being the reason that they'll make it to the final part of the exams."

"But they see me as nothing. We're supposed to be a team, but that doesn't work for us."

"Then prove to all of Konoha what you can do." He stated with distance in his voice.

"All of konoha?" I asked. "I doubt that'll happen, sir."

"I believe people will come to respect you, Nara."

I looked towards his presence with a sad face. "How can you be so sure?"

"There's just something about you." He stated plainly and rose from the ground.


	2. Chuunin

**|Author's Note: I'm not the greatest at explaining fight scenes... Hopefully they're understandable.|**

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**| "Go ahead, underestimate me."| Unknown**

**| "I don't need anyone's approval. I know who I am." | Toph Beifong (Avatar: The Last Airbender)**

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.:Nara:.

This battle wasn't all that hard. My opponent was skilled, but he was depleting his chakra too quickly. It was obvious he wanted a quick battle with me since I am blind, but it has been going on longer than he imagined.

I reflected his attack and the crowd gasped. Maybe because I was blind or it could be because I was ten. Whatever the reason, the man before me was exhausted.

One last kick. I landed it in his stomach as he flew backwards.

He grunted and managed to speak. "How? You're blind! I'm superior to you!"

My opponent rose slowly from the ground. Why did he feel like I was incapable of doing anything? I sighed as I raised my hand in the air. "I quit."

Everyone gasped.

"You quit?!" Kuro yelled at me.

I felt something! I jerked to my left. I have toned my Chakra usage and my ability to read chakra. I can test how strong or weak an individual is. And it gives me an idea of a person's true intentions. I feel something evil in this chakra. It's in the stands among the people.

"Hey! This fight's not over." Kuro called out.

Something was wrong here. This murderous intent was vile and seemed to grow around me. Where was it?

"This fight's not over!" He ran towards me. He brought his foot up to kick my head, but I dodged underneath him, gripped his foot, and twisted it. He yelled out his pain, but I let him go. I had to find this chakra.

I sensed carefully, and finally found the initial area. I gasped as I realized his intentions.

I ran towards the wall of where the Hokage was. Everyone began booing and screaming that I should finish him if I was a true ninja.

I found that to be ridiculous. One, protecting the Hokage is top priority, but obviously no one else sensed this presence. Two, our mission was simply to fight, not kill. And three, killing means revenge and hate. Those were things that I never wanted.

I moved my chakra to concentrate in my feet. I scaled up the wall, but I calculated that I wouldn't block them in time. No one else had noticed the other men.

I gripped my bladed tonfas and placed my hands together. I had to try to flash to that certain spot.

Next thing I knew, I was in front of the Hokage with my back to him. I coved my knife to block the oncoming knives. In order for me to block all of them, I let one of them hit my left shoulder.

"Nara!" The Third yelled out. "How did you know?"

I pulled the knife out of my shoulder. "I'm a ninja, sir." The jounins then understood that there was an imposter and ran towards the area where the knives came from.

I began to run with them, but my legs stopped. I sensed something else behind me. When I spun around, a tall man stood by the Hokage. He wore a mask.

Ninjas began running to his aid. "Third!"

The man pulled out a katana. "This is it, Hokage."

I jumped forward and reflected the weapon. "Oh, look at you, little ninja!" He laughed. "My, my. This should be fun!" He sliced toward me, and I flipped backwards.

His attacks were swift and not wasteful. I blocked and dodged several attacks by reading his chakra. "My, my. You are something, little ninja. I must say I didn't expect much from you down in that battle, but," his speed increased and I blocked the attack; however, he plunged his sword through my stomach in a second attack. "You amazed me anyway."

I choked for air. He placed his hand on my stomach. I felt my chakra draining from me. It became hard to stand on my own. I couldn't fall to the ground. I couldn't! If I did, the Hokage could be attacked again.

"My, my, Little Dragon. You sure are independent." He extracted more chakra. I fell against him unable to steady myself. "Why don't you call on _his_ power?"

"Stop this!" It was the Third.

"Oh, do you know what she is?" He laughed and twisted his hand on my stomach. I grunted. All my chakra was drained, but I was still standing. Something surged throughout my body. What was this? I felt something awaken… no… I don't want this!

He withdrew his katana from me, but I gripped his shirt with my left hand and cradled my right hand over my fresh wound. The power leaked out of now. _No! Suppress it! Stop it._ I looked up to the masked man and I could hear him laughing. While suppressing this intense chakra, I exerted my own chakra and released wind through my left hand. The man stumbled back, but he was still laughing. I felt blood on my hands.

"Release it, Little Dragon! Don't hold it back. Show them all what you can do!"

My breathing became heavier and heavier. _His_ chakra surrounded me now. I dropped to my knees. I could hear his roar within me. It was only for me to hear.

Then, the chakra stopped and my body fell limp to the ground.

"Hm. I've never seen that. No one has ever rejected _him _before."

Even if I wanted to reply back, I didn't have the energy. In the end, I was spoken for. "She's not everyone else."

"Well, this was a turn of events." He looked back to me. "I guess this is all I will do for today." Then he vanished.

I clenched my fist as I tried to rise to my knees.

_What happened?_

_Even in your injured state, you suppressed me?_

I felt a gentle hand land on my shoulder. "Nara, are you alright?" The man from the stone asked.

"Is she okay?" Asked the Third.

"I'll take her to the medics." My limp body was lifted off the ground and held close. I relaxed. I felt the masked man's blood on my left hand and my blood on my right. I didn't sense anything wrong now. I can now drift into unconsciousness…

.:Kakashi:.

She was only ten, and she withstood against an attack from a katana. Now, she lied in my arms breathing gently with her eyes closed. Her head rested against my chest while her white hair cascaded from her head and down to my waist.

Guy ran beside me as we entered the hospital. The nurse at the desk looked up and I saw fear fill her eyes. She pressed a button on the desk and motioned for us to follow her. She grabbed a bed and began rolling it towards the door. Once we entered the through the Emergency Room doors and placed her on the bed.

"What happened to her?" The woman asked.

"An intruder attacked during the Chuunin Exams and she protected the Hokage." I replied.

Her eyes averted to me as she hesitated in her run to the room. "But she looks so young… where were the jounins during the attack?" she swerved the bed easily into a designated room and a doctor walked in.

"She was the only one who sensed the intruder before he attacked the Third."

"Oh, dear…" the male doctor said as he examined Nara's wound. "He cut all the way through. That's quite a bit of pain for someone so young to endure." The nurse lifted Nara's small figure slightly off the table as the doctor began cleaning the wound.

"Are you related or a close friend to her?" The nurse asked to Guy and I. We both shook our heads. "Then I have to ask the two of you to leave."

I hesitated. "She doesn't have any family."

The doctor paused from the procedure and glanced into Nara's closed eyes. He quickly began cleaning the wound again.

"Explain to me what happened." He demanded with a quiet tone. I explained her involvement in the Exams and how I noticed her searching the crowds for something. Then, I saw her race toward the Hokage as the intruder threw knives. I told him of what the masked man did to her.

"How old is she?" The nurse asked.

"I believe she is ten."

"Why was she entered into the Exams at such a young age? We haven't had anyone below the age of twelve ever since you entered them at the age of six, Kakashi."

"The Hokage has seen potential in her."

"Even by the turn of events, she'll probably be ordained as a Chuunin for her sensory skills." The nurse interjected.

"You said her name was Nara?" the doctor asked in a distant voice.

"Yeah." I replied. He maneuvered toward her face ad opened her eyes. He examined them for a second and allowed her eyelids to close. He sat back in his chair with a huge sigh.

"She's blind."

"What?!" the nurse gasped.

"Yes. She is." I confirmed.

"That means…" The doctor said under his breath. He glared at Nara lying unconscious in the bed. He gripped his fists and stood up from his chair, turned on a dime, and began walking out of the room.

I gripped his arm. "Where are you going?" I asked with a harsh tone.

His stare was hard and icy, much like his voice. "That _thing_ is a monster. I'm in line to save _human_ lives, not things like that." He glanced back and jerked his arm from my grasp. The nurse followed him out of the room.

"She laid down her life to save the Hokage!" I called out to him. I cursed under my breath. This young woman just saved the Hokage and the doctor is saying that she is unworthy of being saved. It's sickening. I grabbed the gauze and guy walked over and picked up her body off the table slightly. I began to wrap the clean material around her wound.

"She's already been through so much hell… it's just not fair, Guy."

.:Kakashi:.

I walked into the room. "You asked for me, sir?"

"Ah, Kakashi. Yes, I have a few missions for you." I looked into his eyes and knew that it was more than that.

"What else do you want?" I asked bluntly. No reason to waste time.

He hesitated. "On the day of the Final Exam," he paused, "did you sense anything?"

"No, Hokage. I did not."

"Neither did I. Out of all my jounins, only _she_ sensed the attack."

I remained quiet. I knew that most of the time when I am called in here is for the Hokage to speak out loud and for me to listen.

He continued. "In the arena, she did amazingly well. No one expected her to get that far. I'm thinking about appointing her as a Chuunin. Let her be in that position for about six months and see how she does."

"And if she does well?" I asked already knowing the answer.

"I'll decree her the youngest jounin in our history. She has great power within her, and she has already worked on mastering it."

"You mean the Dragon?"

He nodded.

"Well, sir, it didn't seem like she had mastered it. She struggled against it when the adversary tried to pull it out of her."

He nodded again. "She still suppressed it."

"Sir, why did you ask me to come in here?"

"I want you to watch her train. Tell me of her chakra control. You know the drill."

"Why me, sir?"

"Remember when we had the meeting, and Nara fell out of the vent. I've never seen her actually make eye contact with someone."

"Maybe it was because I attacked her?" I countered. I attacked her merely to show everyone that she did, in fact, possess talent to be a shinobi.

"Even after the little battle, she still made eye contact with you. She's a smart girl, so she had to have known your plan by the time it was over."

"Well, why should it matter anyway? I will stay well hidden to where she won't know I'm near."

"She's already great at detecting another's chakra nearby."

"So why do I need to spy on her? She's not a threat. We already know that she has a good hold on her chakra."

"It's for further reference in the future."

"Further reference?"

"Depending on how things go, I need a special shinobi to protect the village from other countries. I guess it would be more like 'deal with any situation that pops up when you're around' kind of thing."

"I see. So, you want her to find information about people in the Bingo Book. Since no one would expect a blind woman to be a threat, she could easily get hold of information."

"Exactly."

.:Kakashi:.

I watched her from this distance. Ever since the Chuunin exams, she has retreated to this open area everyday.

I observed her as she swerved wind chakra around her. She increased the speeds, then decreased them. It made it look as if the wind had a beating heart.

She stopped doing the jutsu. Nara then formed seals to create earth techniques. Nothing happened. She bent over breathing heavily. She stood up straighter and formed the seals again. I could see her concentrating even harder this time. Then, I saw the earth react to her.

I was surprised that she was able to do that at her age. She was only ten and she was able to control wind and earth chakra. Most Chuunins figure out their chakra nature. When as jounins, they can control another element.

I jumped down from the tree. I was far away that an ordinary genin wouldn't have detected, but she heard me. Her eyes searched over my way at the forest.

"Who's there?" She asked.

"Why do you train by yourself?" I already knew the answer.

"I'm just training by myself right now."

"You didn't train with your team earlier."

She turned her back towards me. "Maybe they took the day off." She replied bluntly.

"That's wrong as well. I've been watching you for a week."

"How come I didn't sense you?" she asked with her eyes to the post she was using taijutsu against earlier.

"I made sure to keep my distance."

"Why? What could a helpless, blind girl do to a jounin?"

"I never said I was a jounin."

"You talk like a teacher. You talk with authority, but not an overwhelming voice. Also, you were the one that attacked me with a lightning technique at the jounin meeting. You're a jounin."

"Have me all figured out, huh?"

"You have a bad cut on your right leg. You walked with a limp. No one has noticed, though. You walk in a way to not apply too much pressure to make it noticeable."

"Oh, is that so? You got all that from reading my chakra?"

She hesitated. "And your left eye isn't your own."

Now that really surprised me. "You can sense that?"

She nodded. "Who are you?"

"I'm a jounin just like you said."

I saw her smile. "Fair enough."

"Back to my first question: why are you training by yourself?"

"My sensei didn't want me." She said with no emotion.

I took a step towards her, and she retreated a step. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it. If you were given a blind ninja as a student, you would fear that she would hold back the rest of the team, so the logical thing to do is to tell her to not come to any trainings or missions. Just let her waste her life away by herself."

"I can inform the Hokage, and your sensei will be brought in. He will have a strict talk about what he did."

"No." She said quietly. "There's no reason for that much trouble to be caused because of me."

"We will put you under another sensei."

"Why go through all that trouble?" I wonder why she is so down about herself. Maybe it was because of her life before Konoha.

"We care for you here-"

She interjected. "No, they don't. You can't speak for all of Konoha. You're one person to hundreds in this hidden village."

"But the Hokage wants you here, and he wants you to be happy."

"He'd be the first…" She mumbled under her breath.

"Your other village didn't care for you?" I asked.

She didn't move or say anything for a moment. Then, she turned around. "I never said that."

.: :.

She walked a good distance from her training area. She went up the hill and stopped by the stone. I watched as she bent down and touched the boulder. It was the stone with many names on it. The names of the people who died to stop the Kyuubi.

I walked out of the shadows and to her side. "You didn't know any of them." I said bluntly. A normal person doesn't care if they aren't affected by the situation.

"No, I didn't." She breathed in. "But it doesn't mean that I can't be thankful for everything they did."

"Do you know what this stone is for?"

"All I can see are names. There isn't anything that says what these names did."

"Yet you know they died?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"How did you know?"

"I saw a young man spend hours by this rock. He would sit and talk to the names as if they could listen. He talked about that battle, the outcome, but mainly that he missed them."

I looked over to her. So, she was spying on me? Or maybe it was someone else. "Everyone in that battle would have been a jounin. How did you get close enough to remain undetected?"

She shrugged. "I'm used to suppressing my chakra. For you, though, I make sure you can follow me wherever I go."

I watched her closely. Was she pulling my leg? "What do you mean?"

"I knew you had a mission to watch over me and observe me. I didn't want to be a bother, so I made sure you could sense my presence."

"This whole time you were making sure I could detect you?"

"It was you right?"

"Huh?" I asked.

She touched the top of the stone. "The one that visits the stone often? Comparing those two presences, they are similar. If so, that makes your name Kakashi."

My eyes didn't leave the little child. "Yeah. My name is Kakashi."

"You're also the one that saved me in the forest… right?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"I wanted to say thank you."

"A shinobi doesn't live for thanks."

She looked to me with a smile. Her hood was down and her face glowed. "That may be so, but it still reminds you why you fight so hard."

.:Kakashi:.

I watched her from my distance. I suppressed my presence more than normal since she is so good at detecting. The Third stood next to me in the tree. We had been watching for about an hour now. Before the Hokage and I came out here, we took special pills that Tsunade sannin made for this situation.

"Amazing." The Hokage spoke.

"As you can see, she has taught herself. I can't believe that Oda rejected her merely because she is blind.

"Even after seeing her in the Chuunin Exams, Oda still didn't want her?"

"That's right."

She committed to another technique and fell exhaustedly to her knees. I saw her body inhale and exhale.

"So that's her limit." I breathed.

"How long?"

"Two days and one night."

I watched as her hands shook from the exhaustion, but she chose to not collapse on the ground. Then I heard a deep voice that caught my attention.

"_You lasted longer than I expected."_

I looked around for the source of the voice. When I looked to Nara, she wasn't worried.

"That was the dragon that spoke?" I asked the Hokage.

He nodded once. "Yeah. When she was attacked during the chuunin exams, the man targeted the seal. It opened slightly."

Nara said nothing in reply to the dragon.

"_Call on my power and show them what you can truly do."_

"No." she breathed heavily. "It's my choice, and I choose to become stronger by my own strength." She grunted and gripped her side.

The voice became louder. "_If you want revenge on your family, you'll need me! Learn how to use this power."_

"I'm not worthless!" She yelled out. "And I don't want revenge."

"_After what that man- your father- did to you, and you don't want revenge_?" the voice exclaimed.

"He made his choice. And I've made mine." She grunted as she began to stand on her feet.

"_Your father sold you away! He gave you up like worthless trash_!"

She fell back to her knees with her hands gripping her ears. I saw the tears fall from her eyes.

"It doesn't matter!" she yelled out through the tears.

"_Because of him, you are blind! Because of him, you have no family! Because of him, you feel like you're worthless!"_

She flung up to her feet yelling, "You're wrong!" With that, the trees before her unearthed ten rows back. Wind engulfed the trees by cutting them into segments.

"You're wrong." She stated.

"_Am I?"_

"I may have no eye sight, or a family, but… I never would have been brought to Konoha."

"_What's so special about Konoha? They just want to use you, Nara! Don't be so naïve!"_

"You don't know their intentions."

"_Man is all the same. They seek power, and that's it_."

"You're wrong again."

"_Enlighten me._"

"I am walking proof that not all man seek out power."

"_But that doesn't answer how you can trust them._"

Another tear fell from her eye. "Trust? I didn't say that I trusted them…"

"_Then what's special about Konoha?"_

"I really don't know if I will able to trust anyone again, but when I'm around the men who brought me here…" She paused and lowered her head. "I feel like I'm closer to trusting someone again."

The dragon didn't reply.

Out of the times this could have happened, one of my kunais fell from my pouch. In desperation, and without thinking, I tried to use my chakra to grab it, but then I was falling forward. The Third grabbed my hand, but that was all the noise she needed to hear.

Her eyes averted to this area, and I knew she had found us. She flicked her hand forward and drew it back. My body was jerked away from the tree branch I sat on and out into the open. The Hokage came along with me.

She had caught us both. "State your names!" She said trying to hide the exhaustion in her voice.

"Hatake Kakashi." I said rubbing my head.

"Kakashi?" She asked in a lighter tone. Was she too weak to read my chakra?

"You know me as the Third Hokage."

I saw the expression on her face drain. She fell to the ground face down in a bow position. "Please forgive me, sir. I- I had no idea."

"We took special pills to not interrupt your training, young one. We should be the ones apologizing."

I saw her hold her breath. She hadn't moved from her apology position. She still didn't show any emotion. Was she afraid that we overheard her conversation with the dragon?

Kota stood beside her staring at me like always. To think that little wolf has grown on me.

"You can stand if you like, Nara." I told her with a smile, but of course no one could see it.

"Oh. Okay." She rose to her knees and placed her right foot under her. She began to rise off the ground and stand straight. I saw fear strike her face when her body fumbled forward.

I moved by her side and held her against me. She was physically and mentally exhausted at the moment. Her eyes were closed and her breathing calmed.

"She needs rest." The Hokage said.

"Should they examine her at the hospital?"

"She doesn't like the hospital, so just take her home and give her plenty of water and go easy on the food."

"Sir… Are you saying that I need to take care of her?"

"Until she has recovered."

"Y-yes, sir." I replied hesitantly.

"I'll give you some money to buy her some food. She needs some stable meat to keep up her protein. Remember, lots of water. She has been training almost nonstop without food and not the amount of water she needs."

"Alright."

Kota stood in front of me and sniffed my hands. He looked up at me and paused. As if he were wondering if I could be trusted.

I pulled Nara close to my chest and lifted her completely off the ground. She barely weighed anything, and she was already unconscious. The little wolf jumped on top of her and leaped into my hair.

"Who said I was giving you a ride?"

The Hokage laughed and looked over to Nara's training area deep in thought.

I leaped into the trees. It was already dusk and most people were in their houses. I landed in the streets and decided to walk the rest of the way.

"Where do the two of you live?" I asked the little wolf.

He hesitated. "We don't really live anywhere…"

"You serious? Where have you two been staying since you came to the village?"

"Well, first we stayed with an elderly woman. We did the daily chores outside for her and she gave us free rent. Later on, she had to move away to live in another town with her family and another family took that house. She was a kind lady. Even when she left, she gave us some money to help us find a place."

"And did you?"

"We did. We paid rent and did extra chores for a family. They were hateful and crucial towards Nara. She is blind, so things that aren't surrounded in chakra, she can't really see. They called her a stupid child and kicked her out. For that, I left a bite mark on his butt." He let out a light chuckle.

"Why have you never talked to the Hokage about this? He would have given you a place to live?" Nara groaned within my arms. Her body was in so much pain.

"She didn't want to trouble the Hokage… he had done so much for us, well, so much for Nara that she felt like she'd be a burden to ask for anything more. She planned on lasting until the colder weather came."

I sighed. She is so young, and she has been living on the streets.

"Then she can rest at my house."

"She heals really fast." The wolf replied.

I could imagine since she has the Bijuu in her.

I opened the door to my house and walked in with Nara in my arms and a wolf on my head.

I carried her in to my room and the wolf pulled the covers back. I placed her gently on the bed and she didn't make a single noise. Her eyes were closed and her breathing had returned to normal.

I walked to the kitchen and filled a bowl with water and grabbed a cloth. I returned to the room and soaked the cloth. I wiped her hair away and placed the cloth on her forehead.

"You live alone?" The wolf asked me.

"Yeah. My parents are dead."

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. I have turned out fine I guess." I looked down at Nara. She fidgeted in her sleep. "Does she have nightmares often?"

"Yeah… most of her nights are fretful and restless."

"What are her dreams about?" I asked. Maybe if I analyzed her dreams, I could unlock some things about her past.

The wolf hesitated. "I don't think I should tell you. Nara will tell you when she feels like she can."

"She doesn't trust easily as I can tell."

"She believes in teamwork… but when it's personal, she has a wall around her."

"When did her sensei reject her?"

"Out of all the things Oda could have done or said, he had to go and abandon Nara."

"What do you mean?"

I saw his eyes change to anger. "He could have said that he just didn't know how to teach a blind person. He could have said anything else, but instead he just threw her away like she was worthless…" The wolf began to growl from the memory.

I placed my hand on his little head. "Calm down, Kota." I said with a smile. "We'll fix this, okay?"

He removed his head from my hand. He lied down next to Nara and placed his head over her stomach. "It's not that simple, Kakashi. What's done is done and the fear will always be there."

A fear? I looked at the two lying in my bed. Nara was still restless, but she was sleeping. Maybe if I give her some medication I have around here, it will help her sleep better.

.: :.

I woke up to the sounds of birds chirping. I sat up from the floor and looked over to the bed. Nara wasn't there. I rose from the floor and opened the door to the backyard. I saw the little blind girl with her wolf sitting next to the tree.

I scratched my head and walked out barefooted. Nara opened her eyes, but of course, couldn't see me. I wonder what I should do in this situation. Do I sit next to her? Do I ask her if she needs anything and go back inside?

"You sleep well?" She asked. I was surprised that she asked first.

"I've slept better."

"Sorry… that I was a burden."

"You're not a burden. Anyway, are you hungry or thirsty?"

"I'm fine for now. Thank you."

Now the awkward part. What do I do?

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked.

What does she mean? She is blind, so does she know if something is beautiful? "What is?"

"The birds. Sunrise. Grass. Just everything I guess." She said with a smile.

"Everything?" I looked around and observed the surroundings. It did all look beautiful. "I suppose you're right. Mind if I sit by you?"

She scooted a few inches so that we could share the tree trunk. I sat beside her and breathed deeply. Come to think of it, I haven't just sat down to watch nature in a long time.

"Can you feel it?"

"Feel what?" I asked.

"The little birds hatching in the tree branches. This is their first glimpse of the world." She stated with a smile.

I looked up and saw the nest, but didn't see the baby birds yet.

"What else do you sense?" I asked her.

"To your left, three yards over, a little boy is playing with his dog." I focused in that direction, and I did sense someone in that general area. "To my right, all the kids are in their houses waiting to surprise their mothers and fathers with a clean house." I focused again, and I did sense four kids in different houses moving around.

"Do you focus to sense those things?" Most shinobi do.

"I have been training myself to sense it naturally. It's second nature. As you can see the people when you walk in the streets, I can sense them. I can tell their age, height, and even the gender just by the chakra."

"So you weren't lying to me at the stone. That's good that you were truthful with me, but it also leaves me uneasy thinking that you could walk around here undetected by jounins."

"I guess it would have that effect." She shrugged, closed her eyes, and leaned against the tree.

"Why won't you sign up for a new team? You'll get more experience quicker."

"I guess." She said quietly.

"You guess? Then what's holding you back? That wolf told me that you don't mind trusting your team with your life."

"Yeah, but they mind trusting me. They don't want me. All they'll do is taunt me to the point of depression."

She's only eleven and she's talking about depression. "Why let them taunt you?"

"I don't know how to fight back I guess…" she whispered.

"You're joking? You fought in the chuunin exams."

"That was because it was an order to fight. Fighting amongst teammates simply because one doesn't know how to shut up and the other doesn't have control over their anger is different than survival."

"Still, a team will help you grow strong."

"I'm not saying that I don't agree. It's just finding a team that will accept me."

"The Hokage will find you a well suited team."

"Thank you, Kakashi."

"A shinobi doesn't live for praises."

"It's good to remember why you fight so hard." She whispered.

.:Kakashi:.

I walked in the Hokage's office. Guy was already in here and I strolled to the center of the room in front of the desk. We waited for our next mission.

"This will be an A-rank mission. I have set Kakashi as the leader. The only problem is all jounins have been sent on other missions." He looked up from his desk and into my eyes. "You can either request a lower status ninja to accompany you, or you can go ahead with the mission."

I thought for a moment. It's an A-rank. "May I request a Chuunin to join the mission?"

"Who do you have in mind?" He questioned.

"Nara." I replied.

The Third smiled. "You're the first person to request her for any mission, you know. Are you sure you want to take her?"

"I'm positive, sir."

"Who is Nara?" Guy asked. We were on the same mission when we brought her to Konoha.

"The blind woman." The Third answered. He was the first person to have called her a woman instead of girl. I agree that she is young, but so was I back then.

"You really requested her, Kakashi? I've heard rumors in the village about her."

"They're just rumors, Guy. I can assure you that she is a bright and strong shinobi."

"Strong enough for an A-rank mission?" He persisted.

"Before you two entered this room, I already sent for Nara to join us. I assumed you would ask for her. She should be here shortly."

"Wait, wait." Guy interjected. "Are you sure she's qualified for an A-rank mission? Even Kakashi wasn't sent on an A-rank mission at her age."

"You don't even know how old she is." I countered.

"Isn't she ten?"

"She's twelve." I corrected.

"How long has she been a Chuunin?"

"About a year." The Hokage answered. A knock came from behind Guy and I.

"Come in." The Third called.

The door slowly opened and Nara entered with her head lowered slightly. She closed it quietly and walked to the center of the room. She stood to my right about a little behind me and to my side. "You asked for me, sir."

His eyes averted to Guy's and mine before he continued. "Yes, I have a new mission for you."

Nara didn't reply in return, but she raised her head to eye level. The Hokage pressed on, "You will be joining Kakashi and Guy, both jounins, on an A-rank mission."

She nodded her understanding, but she still didn't say anything. The Third continued, "Kakashi will be the captain on this mission. All of you are supposed to protect the Feudal Lord of Fire. He will be leaving Konoha in three days. But he told me that he would feel more protected if shinobi watched over him while he was here."

Protecting the Feudal Lord, huh? That's pretty up there on the importance scale. "Will he be visiting any other villages on his way back to the capitol?" I asked.

The Third nodded. "He is a man of many tastes. If something of value catches his eye, he wants it."

"How long do you think the mission will take?" Guy questioned.

"By the time his wagons leave Konoha, probably one and half to two weeks. His men won't ride the horses too hard to conserve their energy."

All three of us nodded. The Hokage waited a few moments for any more questions. "Dismissed."

I walked out the door first, then Guy, and Nara left the room last. I closed the door and noticed Guy staring at Nara's eyes. I wonder how this mission will turn out.

Guy offered a teeth-filled-grin and stretched out his hand to Nara. "My name is Guy. Your name is Nara, right?"

She raised her head and smiled. She gripped his hand lightly. "Yeah. Nice to meet you, Guy."

"So, Nara, what kinds of skills to you have?" Guy asked as we all strolled down the hallway.

"My skills?" She muttered.

Guy pressed on. "Also, what are your fears? A team should know each other inside and out."

"My fears?"

"Your hopes and dreams, too." He cheerfully added.

"Guy," I interjected, "calm down."

"We need to know all that we can about each other." He whined.

I sighed in reply and faced him. "You don't even know all that much about me." He eyed me carefully.

"I don't even know my eternal rival's dreams and fears!" He cried out loud. He melted to the ground in a fetal position.

Nara stepped over him and stood next to me. "Will he be okay?"

"For the most part." I replied. I bent down and gripped his arm. "Come on, Guy." He uncurled from the fetal position and stood to his feet. "We need to go meet with the Feudal Lord."

.:Kakashi:.

The Feudal Lord looked out the window and back to where Nara stood by the wagons.

"Something wrong, sir?" I asked.

"I'm the Feudal Lord. Konoha only sent two jounins and a simple chuunin to guard me? On top of that, she never looks at me when I speak. I don't like it."

I smiled underneath my mask. "That's because she is blind, sir."

"Blind you say? Why, that's even worse!"

"I assure you, sir, she is a worthy shinobi." When I glanced over my shoulder to her, she was talking with a few of the kids on the wagon. She looked up to them with a smile and laughed along with them. That's the Nara I saw the day I looked after her. She smiled her gorgeous smile and forgot all the pain she felt from the village. It must be a hard burden for her, especially for that age.

"At least she's keeping the children busy." The lord muttered as he sat back in his carriage.

Honestly, this type of mission is Nara's strong suit. We are supposed to watch out for bandits and thieves. Nara excels in being a sensory type, so this mission works out well for her.

"Kakashi." Nara's voice came on the radio receiver.

"Yeah?"

"I sense two chakras two kilometers ahead." Two kilometers? She's only twelve, and she can sense that far?

"Guy, you and I will take care of them if they come in for an attack. Nara, inform us when they are half a kilometer away."

They both replied in unison. "Rodger."

Almost an hour passed by. "They are half a kilometer away, and they have split away form each other. It looks they are going to attack simultaneously from each side."

"Thanks, Nara." I replied. Guy readied himself for combat.

Within a few minutes, Guy and I raced forward and attacked the two adversaries. They both retreated to the road. There, three more people appeared and ran to attack the carriage with the Feudal Lord. I grunted as I shifted my attack to stop the three. All five enemies gathered in the road.

"Nara, why didn't you try to protect the lord?!" I yelled into the receiver.

"Protect him from what?" She asked.

"Three guys just tried to kill the him!" Guy shouted.

"I only sense two and neither of them charged at the carriage."

"Maybe she can't sense the other three." Guy interjected.

"I didn't hear anyone approach the wagon either." She said as she stood in between Guy and I. Was this genjutsu?

I formed my hands together. "Release!" the three men disappeared and only two stood in the middle of the road.

One of them snickered. "Impressive if I may say. You caught on to our genjutsu so quickly."

The other one laughed. "Yeah they did. And they wouldn't have noticed it so quickly if it weren't for that girl. We had everyone in that group in a genjutsu."

A puff of smoke filled the air. One of them materialized from the smoke and attacked me. I pulled on my kunai and began to raise it up to block his weapon. In the next moment, Nara twirled around his body and attacked his backside.

Before the weapon made contact with his skin, Nara spoke. "He's a shadow clone." Her blade went through him. She didn't miss a step as she was already in the midst of her next move. She landed on her right leg and raised her left. She released her tonfa blade towards the trees.

I smiled when I heard a cry of pain. The man dropped from the tree and landed loudly on the ground.

"Why you-" The other man shouted as he dashed towards Nara. He slashed his sword and she jumped onto his shoulders and over him. The force sent him plunging into the dirt.

He quickly recovered to his feet. The other man walked over to him with the blade pulled out of his side. I looked at his wound. "Should we show them, brother?" The man with the wound asked.

The man with the sword sneered, "I believe we should." The man with the wound pulled out his sword and fire engulfed around it. The second man raised his sword as lightning flashed through it.

"Lightning and fire jutsu?" Guy asked.

"Not exactly." Nara casually answered. "These are special weapons that are made for elemental jutsu. But, the user doesn't have to be able to perform that element. All the user does is feed the weapon with chakra. The weapon itself changes the nature of the chakra to match its element."

"Smart girl." Said the man with lightning. "She'll be the first to die!" He dashed forward for her. I raced to her side, but the man with the flame sword sliced himself in front of me. I looked to my shoulder and saw blood slipping away from my body. I patted away the fire that he created on my shirt.

"Don't interfere with brother." He stated with a devilish grin.

FIGHT scene…fight scene…

I blocked the flame sword with my kunai. He pressed more on to it and the flames became larger. I stepped back, but I still held up my kunai in defense. Terror swarm down my spine as the second man ran towards me with his lightning sword. I was in a position that if I moved to avoid the lightning, the fire would strike. I shook my head slightly.

I made my move backwards, but a hand gripped my shirt. The fire guy held me in the lightning's line of strike. I couldn't move away now.

Even more terror flowed through me when I saw a small figure jump in front of me and block the attack. The blade went straight through Nara's stomach.

"Nara!" I called out.

The man snickered again. "What a brave young girl. But she sacrificed her self for nothing. You're next Copy Ninja." He began to pull out his sword, but I didn't see it budge. His expression changed to shock.

"Let go of my sword!" He yelled out. I glanced over to my left and saw one of Nara's shadow clones punch the man in the face. He released the weapon and crashed onto the ground.

"Brother!" I kicked the fire guy away from me, and he fell to the ground. He quickly recovered to his feet and charged at me again.

Nara's clone punched him one more time before he countered. The clone vanished and he stood up off the ground. "You're such a nuisance, girl." He grunted.

She pulled out the sword and held it tightly with her right hand. Her chakra flowed with it and lightning was produced. She attacked the man with the lightning. Guy finally regained consciousness and assisted me with the flame sword guy.

We had all three won. The man before me begged for his life. I looked over to Nara. She hovered over the man as his body lay on the ground. She had a sad look in her eyes.

"Are you going to kill me or what?!" He roared.

She turned her back to him and coughed up blood. She limped away. "Hey, girl! If you're a real shinobi, you'll kill me!"

"No." She whispered. He stumbled to his feet.

"Am I not worthy enough for you to kill?" He charged at her. Even with her keen senses, she didn't move to avoid the attack. I raced to stop him because I had a feeling that she wouldn't block it. I plunged my kunai into him and he gasped for his last breath. His body fell lifeless to the ground.

"Brother!" Gasped the other man. Guy plunged his weapon into him to silence him as well.

I turned to fully look at Nara. She gripped her stomach and collapsed to the ground. I reached out my arm to catch her limp body. She had exerted quite a bit of chakra and she was given a pretty bad wound. I told Guy to watch over the lord's carriage while I watched over Nara in another wagon.

I picked her up gently. I carried her to a wagon where the children were. The lord's grandson looked to Nara with concern in his eyes. Without me saying a word, the little boy opened the wagon's door to allow Nara and I in. I laid her down on the floor and began to dress her wounds.

.:Kakashi:.

Guy sat next to me petting the little wolf. We arrived at the lord's village later on in the day that Nara was attacked. She slept through until the next day at night. Right now, it was about three in the morning.

"Kakashi, you should rest. I'll watch over her." Guy offered with a bright smile.

I smiled underneath my mask. "I have quite a bit on my mind to prevent me from sleeping. But thanks, Guy." It was true, but it wasn't of my own worries. I worried for Nara.

"Alright. So when do we plan to leave?"

"Whenever Nara feels ready for the trip back."

"She's a fast healer." Kota pitched in.

I lightened my tone. "Yeah. She is."

"Why do you think she put herself in the midst of the attack?"

I leaned against the wall. "From observing her training, I can assume that she distracted the enemy to get a close range hit on him. Also, without his weapon, he was pretty much powerless."

"But did she really have to get hit like that in the process?" Guy persisted.

"Lightning is speed. It would have been difficult to separate him from his weapon otherwise. Also, choosing him, she was the better one to face him since her chakra is wind nature."

"So she cancelled out the lightning part of the attack?" I nodded in response. "Hm, not bad."

I looked to her when I heard a slight noise. Her eyes slowly opened and she raised herself off the ground.

"Careful." Guy said.

"I'll be fine." She replied. She pushed herself back and leaned against the wall with a loud sigh. "How long have I been unconscious?"

"About two days." I entered the conversation. Kota left Guy's side and jumped into Nara's lap. She smiled to him and rubbed his head gently.

"How do you feel?" Guy asked, concerned.

"I feel fine." She stated.

"Fine enough to leave?" I asked standing up. I asked it to test whether she would persist or make an excuse.

She slowly raised her self off the floor. "Sure." She muttered. She took a step forward, but her body crumpled under her. Guy and I were already prepared for the reaction, and we caught her before she fell all the way to the ground. We slowly laid her on the ground. "I guess not," she sighed. "Sorry I'm such a burden."

"You're not a burden." I replied. There were a few moments of silence. Guy, of course, felt the need to break it.

"Since neither of us can sleep, let's talk about our life dreams. Our likes and dislikes and the such." Not this again… "I'll go first," her persisted. "I love training with my youthful passion. I like when I can test my skills on Kakashi through our competitions. I dislike laziness. My life dream is to be one step in front of Kakashi!" He flashed his teeth-filled-grin. "Kakashi, you're turn."

"Right." I said as I sat back down. I always hated this. "I like my books. I dislike steak. My life goal is to be greater than my father." Maybe if I say that, Nara will feel liberty to open up. I looked to her, but she scooted her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Nara, your turn."

"I like reading." She said, as her gaze was fixated on the floor.

"You have any dislikes?" Guy asked with a bright smile. Nara didn't reply. "That fine. What about your dreams?"

"I don't have any." She whispered.

Guy persisted, "Every young person has a dream. Come on and tell us."

"I had one at one point, but it was merely wishful thinking that doesn't exist anymore."

"How can you say that? A dream is a dream," Guy pressed on even more. "Strive for it to make you better."

"That dream didn't make me better."

A deep voice filled the room. "_That dream destroyed her."_ Nara's eyes widened, and she gripped her stomach.

"What was that?!" Guy asked.

"It's the dragon Bijuu." I answered.

The dragon spoke again. "_She hates herself. She was never able to have a dream because people casted her down to die. Her team found her worthless. Her teacher found her to be a nuisance. The village finds her laughable that she is blind. Her father sold her away like trash!"_

With the mention of her father, Nara's body fell to her knees. She held her hands over her ears. "Stop it! Stop this, Raiden!" She yelled.

"_She wanted to die! She wanted that man from earlier to kill her!"_

Nara balled her hands in to fists.

"_Her village was going to let her die! Her father beat her and made her blind!"_

She began to hyperventilate. She couldn't breathe as the tears flowed out of her eyes. "No!" She yelled out. "Please stop!" Wind enveloped around her.

She jumped off the floor and escaped out the window. Guy and I raced after her. She landed in the trees and fell to the cold earth. Her body was folded in half at her waist. Her head touched the ground but she was still on her knees. She sobbed as her memories rushed through her head.

"Please… just stop." She whispered to the ground. Was she speaking to the dragon or to us?

"_You can hide your feelings from those people, but I'm part of you_," he growled lightly to her. "_I watched everything they did to you. I felt everything that the humans have put you through, Nara."_

She shook her head against the ground. "No… just let it be forgotten. I just want to forget everything. I want to forget all the hate. I want to forget all the pain." She choked through her sobs. The memory of the marks on her back flashed through my mind.

Nara remained quiet for a moment. I didn't hear her sob, nor did she reply to the dragon. I watched in awe as she rose off the ground and wiped away the tears. She turned around and walked to me.

Her voice was distant and monotone. "Forgive me, Captain, for my outburst. There is no excuse for my behavior. I'm going to go to sleep now." She straightened up and she had no emotion on her face. She pushed all that aside that quickly?

"Nara," I said as I lightly placed my hand on her shoulder. "There's no reason to be sorry." She walked out of my arm length and continued back to the room. She jumped up the side of the building and stood in the frame of the hole that she created when she jumped out.

"Wow…" Guy stood beside me.

"Wow what?"

"How well she holds herself."

"Yeah."

"It must be hard to take on her inward feelings, the feelings of people around her, and then having the dragon pushing her like that."

"Yeah. And because of her blindness, people will always underestimate her."

.: :.

I woke up around ten in the morning. I eased up off the floor with a deep moan of unsatisfaction. I rubbed my neck and looked over to Guy. He was still asleep under his covers. He must have been exhausted to sleep in this long. I'm in the same situation also since I never sleep in this late either.

I walked out of the room and to Nara's door. I knocked lightly on it to see if she was awake. There was no answer. I opened the door slightly and peeked in. She and Kota weren't in the room. The thought that she might have run away snuck into my mind, but I quickly discarded it. Nara's not the type to run away from her problems.

I walked over to the hole in the wall that Nara made last night. I heard kids laughing. I looked down to the earth and found Nara and Kota playing with the little children. Even the lord's grandson was playing with the poor kids. Nara played tag with them. At the moment, she was it. It made me smile under my mask from how she pretended to be slow and chase after them.

The kids now jumped on top of her as she carried them around. Guy walked up behind me and gave a huge yawn. "She seems to be doing better."

"Yeah. "


	3. The Past

**| "In three words, I can sum up everything I've learned about life:_ it goes on_." | Robert Frost**

**| "What defines us is how we rise after falling." | Unknown**

* * *

We both sat on the thick tree branch. We sat with our backs facing each other and leaned against them. It had been a year since we began training with each other. We both always loved coming here to forget our frets and fears. She was thirteen and I was nineteen.

After a few minutes of silence, Nara spoke. "Kakashi?"

"Yeah?"

"We have been friends for a while." I could feel the smile in her words.

"That's right. We have."

"Do you remember the first night you found me?"

"Huh?"

"Your team found me in the woods and brought me to Konoha."

I forgot all about my platoon finding her in the woods when she was eight. "Yeah. I remember."

"Back then, the ninjas used their jutsu to figure out where I was from. They wanted to know what happened to me back then."

"Yeah. The reports said that they couldn't find anything, which meant you lost your memory."

"Well, back then, I didn't want anyone to know anything about my past, so I refused their jutsu to enter my sub consciousness."

For her to stop them from entering her mind takes strong chakra control. "Why are you telling me this?"

"When I awoke in the hospital, I remembered everything. I remembered where I was from, but I didn't want Konoha to know about my past. I was afraid they would go there and make things worse."

"What do you mean by make things worse?"

"My village already hated me. If Konoha knew what some of the people did to me…"

"Nara, you can tell me anything."

"I wasn't always blind. When I was formed within the womb, the dragon's energy seeped into me. Since he isn't a true Bijuu, his way of being sealed into a human is different. Well, my village didn't care for me. I was monster after all. I was never allowed to eat with my family. My father despised my very existence. He hated me so much that he sold me away to a group of men."

I sat there in silence.

"Yeah… it was only enough money to buy three meals a day for one week." She paused and took a deep breath. I could tell her eyes were beginning to water with tears.

"Those men took me to a cabin and chained me to two posts. I was bound by my wrists. I couldn't move and I felt pathetic. They beat me with whips and sticks to the point that I was on the brink of death. I was terrified, and I couldn't retreat from the situation. On the nights when I was blood soaked and barely breathing, they would stop and let my wounds heal for two days.

"They knew about the dragon, so they assumed that I healed quickly. Once I had some health back, they would beat me again." She leaned away from me. I looked at her and saw the tears falling from her eyes.

"How long?"

"It happened for a month. After that, they decided to throw me out into the forest to die. They told my father of their plans and he encouraged it. That night, they knocked me out on the back of my head. My father hit me so hard that I lost my sight."

I sat in silence still. What was I to say? I looked into her blue eyes. There were no traces of revenge in them.

"You don't want revenge?"

"Why should I? It's not really my thing."

"Then where was your home village?"

She didn't say anything at first. "I walked in to a man one day that told me once that a home is where people think of you. It's where you can go and feel loved."

She raised her face to me with a smile. "My home is Konoha. It doesn't matter where I am originally from."

I smiled back. "I have never seen such a kind heart in all my life, Nara."

"What do you mean?"

"You were put to the brink of death by your father's say so. You were so young and family was all you could rely on, and in the end, they betrayed you… Yet, you are still so kind."

"I shouldn't be hateful towards others simply because I put trust in the wrong people." There she goes again. Blaming her self for the situation and trusting them. Then again, maybe it helps her keep a kind heart. She doesn't trust easily, but she is still very caring.


	4. Summoning

**|Author's Note: Like I've said previously, fight scenes aren't my forte, so I get lazy with them. Sorry, but I originally thought no one would ever read these, so I merely typed carefree. Time has passed, and I personally don't want to write more detailed fight scenes for this story. Apologies, but I get the main point of a fight across.|**

**|Cutting covenant means making an alliance, or close friendship.|**

* * *

**| "The brave men did not kill dragons. The brave men rode them." | Unknown**

* * *

.:Nara:.

I entered through the gates of Konoha. Kuro and Haru were both greeted by their parents for completing their first jounin mission successfully. I walked by the happy praises from parent to child as they ignored me.

Kota walked beside me, and I could tell that he knew the pain I felt. I simply shook my head once in the thought that I wanted parental praise. On my first A-rank mission, the Hokage and Kakashi gave me a head nod coupled with a smile for a job well done. That's all I need.

I strode through the village to the Hokage's office. "Ah, Nara." I heard Shikaku say with a smile in his voice. I didn't know much about him, but he was always kind to me when I walked by. "The Third has been meaning to speak with you."

"Do you know what about by chance?" I asked as I stopped beside him. I think he and Kakashi are the only ones that aren't bothered that I never looked at them while they or I spoke.

"I'll let him explain it all to you."

"Fair enough." I said with a smile. I walked past him and into the room with the Hokage. I closed it behind me and stood in the middle of the room. I sensed another presence in the room that I didn't recognize.

The Third looked up from his desk. "Nara, how did the mission go?"

"Fine, sir." I said.

"That doesn't sound too reassuring." He replied.

"The mission was a success." I reassured.

"What about the teamwork?"

I presumed he'd ask about that. "A failure, sir."

"As I figured."

"It's merely because they were paired with me. Maybe if they were assigned another team Captain for their next few missions, they would have a more positive report."

"It still reflects poorly on them. They have to work together with the team I assign them."

"I understand, sir."

"What made it a failure?" He questioned.

"When facing the enemy, as the Captain, I told them to cover me while I engaged the enemy first. Then they were supposed to attack the enemy from behind. Instead, Kuro jumped in without thinking. In doing so, he endangered Haru's life."

"I see." He sighed and shrugged in his chair. "Nara, many people questioned me when I ordained you a jounin at the age of twelve. Now you're fifteen."

"Yes, sir."

"I have requested that one of my old students to train you."

"One of your old students?"

"The Sennin Jiraiya."

"Jiraiya?" I turned to the extra presence in the room. He took a few steps forward, and I naturally backed away the same amount of steps. The more I focused on his chakra, I remembered him as the man that taught me that a home is where people are thinking about you.

"Cautious, aren't we?" He said in a light tone with a snicker.

I realized my mistake. "Sorry, Jiraiya-sensei. I instinctively keep my distance sometimes." He stepped forward toward me again, and I didn't move. Kota sat on the floor next to me watching my new sensei.

"I accept, Third Hokage. I will teach her the Summoning Jutsu."

"Summoning jutsu?" I questioned and directed my attention to the Hokage. "I've attempted it before, and it was determined that I was unable to learn that jutsu."

"You're well developed in skill now and can harness your power better. This time, Jiraiya will teach you instead of Oda."

I moved my head toward my new sensei. I hoped with everything within me that he wasn't anything like Oda.

.:Jiraiya:.

"You are dismissed, Nara." She nodded and turned to exit.

"I will meet you outside the building in one hour to begin training." I stated.

"Yes, sensei." She replied and closed the door behind her.

"What do you think?" The Hokage asked me.

"It seems that she belittles herself in my opinion. How many elements did you say she could do?"

"Three."

"For that age? She's young to be a Captain, too."

"You're going to doubt my action as well?" The Hokage asked with a hoarse voice.

"I will admit that her blindness is difficult for me to grasp, but she's came this far by overcoming it. Who am I to judge?"

.:Nara:.

"Again." Jiraiya stated. I focused my chakra into my hand and exerted it onto the sheet of paper. He told me that infusing my chakra into the paper will help in deciding which animal summoning I am most suited to. Focusing and exerting my chakra was no problem, but the paper revealed nothing.

"Nothing is happening." I stated as I stood up straight. We have been trying this for about two hours.

"Alright, Nara." He stood beside me. "I'm going to show you the signs of summoning. I want you to do them. This way is dangerous, but I refuse to believe that you are unable to summon a creature."

"What will happen if I can't?"

"Then nothing will happen."

"What's the risky part?" I asked.

"Well balanced chakra will send the person in a reverse jutsu. Since you haven't signed with an animal, whichever creature you are most suited for is the place you will be in."

"Will they attack me, sensei?"

"Probably. That's the risk. If you don't want to do this, I won't make you."

I thought for a moment. It would be helpful in the future if I really could summon an animal. "Show me the signs." I stated. He took his stance and went through them. Without touching the ground to actually summon his frog, he simply acted as if he were to summon it.

I went over the signs in my head several times, and then I widened my stance to perform the jutsu. I went through each sign and made sure to not mix or mess them up. After the seals, I through my right hand on the ground. Smoke captivated me and once it depleted, I was in an unknown region.

I didn't feel Jiraiya near. I was stoked that it was possible for me to do the jutsu, but frightened by what creature I was in link with. I listened carefully and concentrated. I could barely sense any chakra presences here.

I sensed something coming closer. It was huge. I heard it snarl at me, but it wasn't a dog or wolf type of snarl. "How did you, _a human_, get here?!" He asked me in a deep rumble.

What was this thing? I didn't find the words to speak because it flung itself forward to attack me. I dodged to the left, but barely. This creature was fast. He turned back and slashed me with his tail.

I grunted against the impact of the earth. I heard him move closer and raise his foot off the ground. I wiggled from underneath his tail and jumped backwards.

"I'm not here to fight!" I called out so he could here me. Fear gripped my heart when I heard a deep rumble. His chakra was flaring inside of him. Fire burst forth from its mouth and it almost scorched me. The fire kept coming, so I obtained shelter from the boulders near me. Fire. I need to focus my defense around earth.

I felt movement in the chakra as it hovered over me. I could feel the chakra rumbling widely within him as he released the fire again. I jumped from underneath him. As I jumped, I formed the seals as fast as I could and the earth blocked the fiery flames.

I heard a slight laugh from him. "You were able to stop my flames? Normal humans can't handle my kind's elemental attacks."

His tail attacked again and I dodged left. Wrong move. He pinned me against the ground with his claw. I grunted since he knocked the air right out of me. I struggled to breathe as he put more weight in to his claw.

"Masashi!" I heard a female voice yell out. Her presence was more detectable, but still more hidden than a human's. The creature's pressure lightened, but he wouldn't allow me to get up.

"What do you want?!" He asked.

"What are you doing releasing that much chakra? You know we don't-" she stopped as she looked at me. "Masashi… that's a human."

He growled as his attention was brought back to me. "Yeah. I just found her."

"We should take her to the elders at once."

"There's no way we should chance that. What if she tries to attack us?"

"Feed her the paralysis berries. That should keep her calm until we reach the elders."

I didn't have enough air to even speak to assure them that I didn't want to fight, but then again, why should they trust? Apparently, they and humans don't get along too well. Then… why was I sent here?

I was told to eat the berries. I hesitated, but relented. I needed to follow their orders for now.

The next thing I knew, I was lying in the middle of a huge stone room surrounded by five chakras. There were ten other presences in the room as well.

"Ah, she awakens." Said one voice.

"She shouldn't be here." Growled another.

"Calm yourself, Hotaru. Right now, she should be treated as a guest."

"She is a human! She deserves nothing of the sort."

I sat up from the ground. After a few moments of silence, I decided to speak. "Can I at least know where I am?" I asked nonchalantly. I can't show fear while in this realm.

"Why do you act so carefree? We could kill you right now." Snarled one of the others.

"Then why worry?" I asked with a smile.

I could hear the gasps from a few of them. I was sure the others had shocked faces. "Why worry?!" Growled the earlier one. "Your pathetic life could end right now merely because I choose for it to."

I shrugged. "Then worrying won't change my fate, will it? You're obviously strong. If I fight back, your people will fight alongside you. So, judging from your chakras, I don't stand a chance."

"You can sense our chakras?" Asked the last of the ones surrounding me.

"Yes." But only when I'm at close quarters. Best not for them to know that, though.

"Do you know who we are?" The female voice asked.

"No, I don't."

One of them brushed up against me. I felt scales on his body. His face hovered in front of mine. "I see. A human without vision."

"She's even more pathetic than the rest of her kind!" Yelled the hot head from earlier.

"No. I believe she is just the right one." Right one?

"You don't mean that we can trust her, Daichi?" Came a female voice.

"I believe it is time for us to break the barrier between us and the humans. This young one managed to get here."

"All we do is kill her and no one else will come over that bridge, right?"

"No, it's not that simple."

"My first question is still unanswered." I spoke up.

"You are in Saya. The land of Dragons."

I held my breath, and without thinking, placed my hand over my stomach. "Dragons?"

"Only five people have possessed the capability to summon our kind, and that includes you."

"Four other people prior to me could summon you? I thought I was unable to perform summoning jutsu."

"Your chakra bringing you here obviously means you are highly skilled." His eyes observed me carefully. "Even for a human, you are very young to possess such high power."

"Why do you say that?"

"Masashi explained the battle from earlier. To be able to block a dragon's fire using earth jutsu has to be beyond average. I'm sure you realized that when fighting I presume."

I nodded my head.

"We should examine her fully to be sure, Daichi."

"Be sure of what?" He asked.

"I know what you're thinking. Before we are hasty, we should do as I have requested."

"Examine her? That's very rude, you know." Answered a female voice to my left.

"We have to be sure, Kazane. What if she is just like the other four?"

"We examined them, too, and didn't find anything at the time if you recall history correctly."

The other growled in reply to Kazane.

"Inari, bring me the scroll." I felt a small dragon leave the giant room.

"Are you sure about this, brother?"

He nodded. "Do you remember what the Dragon Mother told us when we were born? About the human child? What if this girl is the child she spoke of?"

"We thought that about the previous humans who entered our realm. What makes her any different?"

"Her eyes." He simply replied. The other dragons became silent. It seemed pointless to argue with Daichi now. "What is your name?"

"Nara." I replied. I was surprised when he didn't question my clan name. Inari returned with a scroll and handed it to Daichi.

"Now, Nara, all you have to do is make a signature with your blood on this scroll, and we are your summons."

"Is it really that simple?" I asked.

"To summon a creature and commit to a contract is. The real difficulty is training with your summoning. The most uncommon thing is actually entering their realm."

I stood up from the ground and bit my thumb. Blood oozed out and I walked up to the scroll. I spread my blood on the parchment. As I signed it, I felt a burning sensation on right shoulder blade.

I flinched. Daichi spoke again. "That is our mark. We are the only creatures that make a mark for contracts."

"So, now I can call on you to help me fight?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Dragons personally don't like the land of humans. We are probably the worst summoning for anyone to use since we do not assist in battle. We only help train the humans that can make it our realm."

"Why don't you help in battle?" I asked.

"Humans are easily corrupted by hatred and greed. That's why we were hesitant about training you. Anyway, using us in battle isn't the wisest choice."

"But you would be fighting alongside me. It's putting your training to a good cause." I replied.

He shook his head again. "If you call us in battle, we will only protect you. Anyone else on your team will mean little to nothing to us, so we won't help them."

"I see."

"Good. I will send you back to your world, Nara-chan. When you are ready to train, summon one of us and we will bring you back here safely." I could feel the smile in his words.

I bowed slightly at my waist to show respect. "Thank you, sensei." It was directed to all of the dragons around me. I vanished from the dragon realm and I popped up back in the field where I was training.

"How'd it go?" Jiraiya asked me. "What creature is linked to you?"

I looked towards him. "My chakra is linked with the dragon kin."

"Oh? The dragons you say?" He said.

"They gave me a mark."

"Ah. Then they truly accepted you. Wow. To think that I can actually stand in the presence of a person that can summon the dragons to her aid." He laughed.

I felt uneasy. "You're a sennin, Jiraiya-sensei. I am merely a teenager. Anyway, I can't summon their aid. I have to train with them first to understand them."

"You must be something pretty special for them to trust you like that."

Trust me? "Maybe it's just because of the Bijuu inside of me."

"I doubt that, Nara. I highly doubt that."

"How can you be so sure?" I questioned.

"There's just something about you." He said with his head raised in the air.

.:Kakashi:.

I walked to the entrance of the village. Awaiting me was Kuro. Inwardly, I was upset about being teamed with him, but it didn't matter. I refused to show it on the outside.

We waited for nearly two minutes when Kakashi showed up. For the mission, Kakashi was the leader and we were to receive a special artifact from a neighboring village. Even though it's a neighboring village doesn't mean it's right next to us. We would have to travel three days to make it to the village.

"You two ready?" He asked.

"Yeah." Kuro replied.

I simply nodded once. We jumped to the trees and began our mission.

We had just left the village with the artifact. Even though I wasn't looking forward to the mission a few days ago, it actually hadn't been all that bad. Kuro wasn't a smart mouth all that often, so that made it better.

I felt two presences near. "Kakashi." I said loud enough for him to hear.

He stopped and landed on the branches. Kuro followed suit and I kept my distance in another tree. "Yeah?" He asked.

I pointed to my right. "There are two chakra presences that way."

"Oh!" Kuro spoke loudly. He laughed. "That's just Haru and Kiza on a mission. They told me they would be around our area."

I didn't reply. Something wasn't right about this situation. If they were on a mission, wouldn't it be in a three-man cell? I only sensed two.

"Hey, Haru! Kiza!" He yelled out.

"What are you doing?!" I asked. "What if it's not them?"

"I know them from anywhere." He laughed. This still didn't feel right. The two started coming closer. "Let's go see them." He said as he jumped forward.

Kakashi took the hint from me when I didn't move. "No, Kuro. Let's just finish the mission."

"Oh, come on! I haven't seen them in forever." He exclaimed.

I didn't move my head toward him. "Then how did you know about their mission?"

"Huh?" He asked, all the laughter gone from his voice.

"You said that they told you about their mission. They couldn't have gotten it too much earlier before we were given ours."

"She's not too shabby." Said Haru. They had made it to us.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Asked Kiza. I sensed Kakashi grip a kunai from his pouch and prepare for what might happen.

"The blind girl is a nuisance to everyone in the village. We are doing them all a favor!" Kuro laughed maniacally.

Blah blah, epic fight scene!

I felt Kakashi being kicked in the chest and he was sent backwards. But backwards meant falling off the cliff. I raced to the edge and gripped two kunai. I infused them with chakra and threw them at a tree as I slid off the cliff.

The chakra turned into wind and pieced cleanly through the tree. I swiped my left hand to the left and the kunais circled around the tree. As I gripped Kakashi's wrist, the wire stopped us from falling the rest of the way down. I breathed heavily thinking of what might have happened.

I heard them moving to the wire. I attempted to throw Kakashi over the ledge and climb up, but I was too weak physically to do it at the moment. Kakashi was unconscious and I didn't have the physical strength to pull us both up.

Kuro stood over the ledge and hovered over me. "You really are bright, but nothing good can come from someone like you, Nara." I could feel the evil grin in his words. "This is the end."

The wire snapped and I was free falling into nothing. I listened to how wide the ravine was and pulled out one of my bladed tonfas. I gripped it in my left hand and slammed it into the edge that I was closest to. I added wind chakra to help slow us down. The sound made me cringe, but I had to stop our falling as much as I could.

I exerted earth chakra coupled with the wind to help in the process. We finally stopped. I released my breath with a heavy sigh.

I was able to balance chakra into my feet so I didn't have to rely on my tonfa. I waited until I didn't fell their presences anymore. I held him awkwardly in both of my arms and walked up the ravine. I was weak from the traveling and the random fight that it was difficult to carry someone up a cliff.

I pulled him over the edge and collapsed on the ground. I eased up off the ground and decided to at least make a small camp for now. Whatever jutsu he used drained Kakashi dry. He needed some time to rest.

I rolled out his sleeping bag and dragged his body onto it. I unzipped his jacket and pulled his chainmail and shirt up slightly. I just needed enough skin to close the wound. I reached into my pouch and grabbed the ointment.

I spread it gently on his left side. By how cool the weather was becoming, night was coming closer. I decided to stay awake all night to make sure no one else approached.

.:Nara:.

I felt the morning sun beat down on me. I rubbed my eyes from not having any sleep and rose from the ground. I looked in Kakashi's direction. I am going to have to carry him, aren't I?

I sighed with a smile and walked over to him. I pulled him off his bag and rolled it up. I bent down on one knee and pulled his body close to me. I placed his left arm over my shoulder and hoisted him off the ground. Being sleep deprived and picking up someone bigger and taller than I, it was difficult to hold him in this position.

I leapt to the trees, very ungraceful if I might add, and began the journey back to Konoha.

After one kilometer, I was breathing heavily. I needed to rest for a few minutes. I jumped on the last branch and descended to the ground. Without properly calculating Kakashi's weight, the impact of the land made me crumble to the ground. I yelled out and gripped my ankle that was filled with agonizing pain.

I replayed the scenario in my head and realized that I probably broke my ankle. I grunted and leaned against a tree. A broken ankle, huh? I closed my eyes and sighed. The only thing that could get us to Konoha soon is if someone from Konoha was nearby.

Oh, hey. I have an idea. I bit my thumb and performed the seals. Summoning jutsu. Instead of summoning Inari who always reverses the jutsu, I summoned Masashi.

He looked around with a confused face. "Nara?"

"Yeah." I said with a smile.

"Why have you summoned me here and not Inari? She is always the one that brings you back to Saya."

"I was wondering if you would be able to help me." I began to rise off the ground, but gritted my teeth from my ankle. I balanced myself against the tree. "Would you mind helping me carry Kakashi close to my village?"

He looked over to the limp body on the ground. "Nara-chan, you know the rules…"

I smiled. "But you're also helping me. You see, I can't walk well at the moment with this ankle. And I most definitely won't be able to walk while carrying another person."

I sensed his charka turn into a mischievous grin. "You're pretty sneaky, you know. And I'm probably the only dragon that will agree to doing this."

"That's why I chose you." I bent down to pick up Kakashi's body. I pulled it off the ground enough to put him on Masashi. "Also, you and I have better conversations."

"Better conversations? Dragons aren't good with talking to your kind." He stated with a hint of laughter.

I leaned against him as he walked forward. "At least you joke with me."

.:Masashi:.

Nara suggested that we continue walking when the night pressed on us. I watched as she struggled to stay upright and walk beside me.

"Nara, should you rest for the night? I will keep watch."

She stood next to me for a moment lost in thought. I understood that she wanted to return to the village, but driving herself into the ground wasn't going to help anything.

She sighed. "I suppose that's a good idea." She leaned against me and I lowered myself to the ground. I kept watch for the night and watched as she slept next to me. I wrapped my tail around her to let her feel secure.

They both slept soundlessly. It was about an hour before sunrise when Kakashi woke up. He raised himself off the ground and surveyed his surroundings. His eyes began to get used to the dark and he could see. His eyes stared at me.

"Are you not afraid?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Nara told me about the dragons."

"You know how many people know about her linkage to my kind?"

"I believe only Jiraiya, the Third Hokage, and I."

"I see." I said.

"How is she?"

"She's just exhausted. She hurt her ankle while carrying you."

"She carried me?" He asked with a surprised look.

"Yeah. You fell off the cliff and she caught you in time and saved you. She connected wires to kunais, threw them at a tree, and made them wrap around it to support the two of you. The other member cut them and you both fell."

"We actually fell over into the ravine?"

"Yeah. She jammed her tonfa into the side of it to stop you two from falling any farther. From there, she carried you out and allowed you to rest while she watched for any enemies."

He sighed. "I seem to be so much trouble."

"You were." I stated bluntly. He smiled in return. "But she was able to say that me helping in carrying you was actually helping her and such. You better be happy that I'm a push-over for her."

"Well, I would personally like to say thank you, dragon."

"My name is Masashi." I said.

"Mine is Kakashi."

"Kakashi, I know we are not acquainted well, but may I ask something?"

"Yeah."

"Did you cut covenant with Nara?"

He didn't answer for a moment. "Yeah. I did."

I smiled. "What a privilege you and I have then."

"What do you mean?"

"Someone like Nara-chan trusting us enough to cut covenant." I raised my claw for him to see the palm of it. There was a scar. "That means that you and I are connected as well, Kakashi-san. I'm the closest dragon to Nara, and you are the closest human."

"What does that mean for you and I?" He asked.

"It means that I will bypass the rules to save and protect you for Nara's sake."

He studied me for a few moments. "That's a big step for the dragon kin."

I nodded my head. "We are supposed to stay out of human affairs. Unless a case like Nara happens. Those are our laws."

"Why do you have those laws? Having power like yours can help establish peace."

I shook my head. "The dragons of earlier generations attempted to help bring peace and balance to the world. Instead, humans tried to control our power to enhance more suffering. They did it all in the name of peace and prosperity." I shook my head. "It's pathetic. They were only greedy for power, and my kind suffered for it."

"And you don't believe that fighting alongside Nara and helping me will prevent people from trying to harness your powers again?"

"We've made it clear to Nara to not summon us during battle unless her life is on the line. The less people know of us, the better. Another rule, if we are summoned in battle, we will kill the enemy. No excuses."

"Then what help are you to Nara?"

"Unlike the previous four, Nara chose to use us as teachers and trained in our realm. The four before her didn't care whether their enemy died, so they carelessly called on my kind all the time."

"I see. What if she calls on you and doesn't have an enemy to fight?"

"That's when she requests us to train with her. She trains in both this realm and mine. In mine, everything is calmer so concentration comes easily."

He changed the subject. "How long have I been unconscious?"

"Two nights and a day." I replied. In return, he rose off the ground and stretched his limbs. He calmly walked over to Nara and placed his hand on her forehead. What was he doing?

"She doesn't have a fever, so that's good." He slipped his hands underneath her and picked her gently off the ground. He held her in front of his body and turned to me. "Thank you for all you have done. I can carry her the rest of the way."

I stood off the ground and looked into the man's visible eye. I nodded and vanished back to my realm.

.:Kakashi:.

We were about two kilometers away from the entrance of the village. Several times during the day, Nara fidgeted in my arms. I would pause momentarily to make sure she was fine. She calmed down and looked so peaceful asleep.

She fidgeted again and her eyes opened. I landed swiftly on a branch and descended to the ground. She was very lightweight for her age. I truly wonder how she carried me. I sat her down on the grass and leaned her against a tree.

"Are you hungry or thirsty?" I asked.

"I'll wait until we arrive at the village. Where's Masashi?"

"I woke up before sunrise and decided to carry you the rest of the way. I thought it would make it simpler for the dragon."

She began to stand off the ground, but stumbled to her right. I helped her hold her balance. "You sure you want to wait until we reach the village?"

She nodded. "It's less than two kilometers away. I'll be fine."

I pulled her right arm over my shoulders. I wrapped my left arm around her waist to help steady her, and we both jumped to the trees.

We landed by the entrance and walked into the city. Nara was breathing heavily.

"Kakashi, Nara!" Called out Haru. "Glad to see you gu-" He stopped in his sentence. "What happened?" He walked up close to Nara, and I kicked him to the ground.

"Stay away from her, Haru. You attacked us." I said.

"What do you mean? I was stationed by the entrance when you guys left on your mission. I haven't left the city since then." He was already back up on his feet. "Kuro said that the team was separated."

"Of course he'd say that." I replied bitterly.

"Kakashi," Nara entered the conversation. "Calm down. Let's go talk to the Third about this. The men that attacked us transformed as Haru."

I nodded and helped her all the way to the Third's office.


	5. Elements

**| "Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die. But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they go on and on." | Chuck Palahnuic**

**| "The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease to be able to do it." | J.M. Barrie**

**| Auquaphobia- abnormal fear of water. |**

* * *

I looked away from the books in front of me, and heaved out a heavy sigh. Mai, the librarian, walked to my side. "How's the research going, dear?"

"Not well," I replied to her. Kota rubbed his nose against my hand. Normally animals weren't allowed in here, but Mai removed that rule specifically for me. Now, people from the Inuzuka clan could bring their dogs in the library. She has strict rules for the animals being in here, but at least they are now allowed.

"What have you been looking up today?" She asked as she placed a book on a shelf to the left of me.

"I'm researching water nature chakra manipulation."

"Nature manipulation? Aren't you able to do wind, earth, and fire?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but I was also looking up a few things about water jutsu."

"Four elements?" she pondered on the thought for a moment. "I don't think anyone in the village can perform four elements."

"Doesn't mean it can't be done." I replied while looking at a book. It was stating the basics of water jutsu. Basic element manipulation is all these books tell me about.

"True." She picked a book off the shelf and held it close to her. "Do you really think you can do it?"

"I'm not sure, Mai. These books aren't really helping. I might just go out and attempt to manipulate it."

"You're always out training, aren't you?" Kakashi asked behind me. I sensed him earlier, but he just now entered the library.

"It sure feels that way."

"You're going to try water next?" He questioned.

"Yeah."

"Do you know how rare it is for someone to learn four different elements?"

I stood up from the table and started stacking the books. Mai walked over to my side. "Don't worry about those, dear. I'll take care of these."

"Thank, Mai," I said as I walked by Kakashi's side out of the library. "I know that it's extremely rare for someone to learn four."

"Just wanted to make sure you know," he replied simply.

"You think I'll be unable to learn four elements?" I asked with doubt in my voice. I felt uneasy about learning water.

"Honestly," he began as he tilted his head back, "I believe that you have a better chance than the whole village at learning four elements. You're the type of character that makes herself stronger because of her weaknesses. Your blindness has made you the best sensory type in all of the Fire Country."

I felt my cheeks blush from the praise. I wasn't use to this. "But how does that make me more qualified than any one else about the fourth element?"

I felt the smile in his words, "You're just the type of person to train until you succeed."

"And what about Guy?" I joked. Guy may not be the brightest jounin, but he pushes himself to make himself stronger all the time.

"He only knows Taijutsu." The smile was still present. "He only charges head-on at a situation, while you analyze each aspect of it."

"Then what about you, Kakashi?"

He scratched his head casually. "I don't quite have the stamina to have four elements."

.:Kakashi:.

I felt like such a freak…

I don't how many times this makes it, but I was observing Nara attempting to learn water jutsu. What makes this observation worse, I wasn't given a mission to keep an eye on Nara. I don't know if I'm just overly concerned, or just a creepy stalker.

I scratched my head. She and I are close friends. We had the mark to prove it on our right hands. I watched as she performed her summoning jutsu. I expected to see Masashi's figure to appear, but instead, a dragon equal in size materialized.

He had a long body with long legs. He didn't have wings, but his legs looked like they were built for speed. His skin was a deep blue.

Guy jumped beside me. "Guy! What are you doing here?" I said in an urgent voice, but not too loud for Nara to hear.

"The Hokage gave me two pills and told me to catch up to you. He is very interested in whether Nara will be able to commit to four elements."

"You don't find it creepy that I am here watching her?" I asked. He was my other closest friend.

"You two are close, Kakashi. You want to support her."

I smiled underneath my mask. "Thanks, Guy."

He snickered. "Yeah. The Hokage said that she had become even better in chakra sensory."

"Yeah. One pill won't work anymore."

"I'm glad she's on our side." We both quieted down as we listened to the conversation between Nara and her dragon summon.

"Nara-chan? Why have you called for me?" His deep, calm voice asked.

She bowed at the waist slightly to him. He must be one of the elders she told me about. "Mizu-san. I was hoping that you would tell me about water jutsu."

"Water jutsu?" He questioned with surprise. "But you already know three elements. Four is incredibly difficult for the human kind."

"I understand this, but it is still possible."

He studied her for a few moments with intense, green eyes. "I will admit, Nara-chan, you truly amaze me, you know."

"Mizu-san, I didn't call you hear to praise me."

A big grin appeared on the dragon's face. "Hm, it appears so. If you are sure." She nodded to him with a smile. He walked close to her, and she didn't budge. "Then allow me to take a glimpse of your memories and see what all I need to teach you on." His whiskers moved to her head and she closed her eyes. Minutes passed as the dragon invaded her memories.

Then, he backed away and opened his eyes slowly. Nara opened hers as well, but she didn't seem to be fazed. Mizu sighed heavily. "I cannot tell if you are able to perform water jutsu, but you have phobia of it. It has to do with what happened before Konoha found you. You remember, right?"

She nodded with a sad expression. "Yeah. I do."

"You know all the basics to manipulate water, but your fear won't allow you to manipulate it."

"Are you saying I'll never be able to use that element?" she asked, all life drained from her.

"I'm not saying whether you can or can't, because even I cannot determine that, Nara-chan. Since I'm acting as your teacher, I will say that dismissing the fear may help with you approaching the fourth element."

"How do I overcome it?"

He closed his green eyes. "That is something for you to figure out." With that, he vanished back to his realm.

Nara stared blankly at the ground. Was she prepared to do this? I remembered her telling me about when the men from her village tied her in ropes and a sack. They threw her into a river, so that she would drown. Her body sunk under the water and her fear was born. She couldn't move her body. She was trapped without air. She longed to feel the air enter her lungs. From that intense moment, wind chakra rotated around her. It cut the ropes and the sack. The wind stopped and water enveloped her once again. She blacked out as her body floated to the top of the surface where Kota's mother found her.

I watched with curiosity as Nara placed her weapons on the ground. Kota had sad eyes towards her.

"Are you sure about this, Nara? That fear could make you breathe weird again…"

She smiled to the mid-sized, black wolf. "Remember that night when Guy asked about what dream I have?"

Kota nodded, not quite understanding her intent.

Nara continued, "Well, I now have one."

"What dream?"

She grinned. "I'm going to learn all five elements."

Shock was all too evident on the wolf's face. "All five?! But no one can do that!"

"Guy was right… a dream makes you strong. Even though my first dream for my father to love me was destroyed, it still made me strong back then. I wasn't allowed to enter the Ninja Academy because of the dragon Bijuu, but I studied throughout the hours of the day. I learned quickly, and taught myself almost everything I know. Even though my father still resented me, I still gave myself to books in hopes that knowledge would make him accept me. That made me strong intellectually."

"What does that have to do with the five elements?"

She unclipped her gloves and pulled them off. "That dream was selfish, you know. Now, I want to learn all five elements in order to protect people."

"Protect people? That's a big burden to put on yourself."

"It's what keeps me going, Kota. On the missions I go on, I put myself in the enemy's attack to protect someone from my team. I feel truly alive when that happens… I feel like my life isn't a waste, you know. Even just to save one person."

She pulled off her shirt and chainmail. She was left in a black tank top.

"Nara, you shouldn't put so much pressure on yourself," Kota countered.

"With everything you've been through, it won't be easy to get over your fears."

"I know that, but I need to start somewhere. And to be able to protect people, fears are merely distractions that will kill me in the end. Fear is something that needs to be conquered."

Admiration and a newfound respect for Nara filled my eyes as I watched her approach the lake.

She exerted chakra to her feet as she walked across the lake slowly. Even though her words were strong, fear still devoured her. Even with her fear, she continued walking across the lake.

Then she stopped. The chakra stopped flowing to her feet as she fell straight into the water.

.: :.

"How long has she been at it?" Guy asked.

"It's been three days… Her fear is dying down. It's still there, but she can at least stand on the water calmly." She came out here at dawn this morning to begin training. Today, she approached the water with a different tactic. She walked into the water barefoot up to her ankles. With that depth, she wasn't bothered by her fears. She would breathe for a few times and ease in a little bit at a time.

When she came to waist high with her hands in the water, her breathing changed. But that was earlier. Now, she was up to her shoulders. She exerted her chakra into her hands and inched deeper into the water while keeping her head above it. She didn't do well with it at first, but she began to calm down.

She stopped the chakra flow and allowed her body to be taken under the surface. I could tell that her fear was dwindling, but after four seconds, wind chakra burst out of the water and Nara jumped out. She landed on the surface with clinched fists, and she breathed heavily.

She stood up. I thought I saw a grin materialize on her face as she slipped underneath the surface again. I waited for the wind to part the waters, but to my surprise, it didn't happen. I saw her head calmly come out of the water. She pulled herself on top of the surface with a bright smile as the water dripped down her skin. She clasped her hands together and performed simply signs.

The water danced around her.

"She did it!" The words escaped me without my consent.

"She really did…" Guy whispered. "Her youthful passion is inspiring me to go train harder!" He rose up off the branch and gave me a thumbs up. "I'll catch you later, Kakashi." With that, he jumped off towards Konoha.

I descended from the branch and onto the ground lightly. I walked casually to the edge of the forest. Kota noticed my smell and ran up to me. He jumped on me enough to knock me to the ground. I patted him on the head several times as Nara approached us.

"You know, the reason why I come out here to train is for privacy, but you and Guy just don't understand that apparently." The smile grew on her face.

"So you knew we were here?"

She nodded, "Did you two increase the amount of pills you take? It was more difficult to tell who you were at first."

"Yeah. We took two each. But, besides that, you can use four elements, Nara. That's a big deal."

She shrugged, "Actually, I'd rather not too many people know about that if you don't mind."

"You do know that everything is brought to the light, right? People will find out about this."

She scratched her head with a shy smile. "Yeah, but I don't want too many people knowing for as long as I can I guess."

"I understand," I replied to her.

"Thanks, Kakashi."

"Anytime, Nara."

.:Kakashi:.

I walked through the village. A little kid ran passed me and some villagers were yelling angrily at him. I felt bad for him since he is the holder of the demon fox: Uzumaki Naruto.

He has gained a name of being the one to cause mischief, but he's merely lonely. Maybe I should try to watch over him and offer to buy him a meal every now and then.

I glanced up and watched as the little Naruto stopped in the middle of the streets. The villagers had already given up chasing him. In front of him stood Nara. She looked down to him with a bright smile and placed her hand on his head. Everyone else was afraid of him, but she simply walked up and smiled to the little boy.

I walked beside them and Naruto had huge eyes of disbelief. No one has ever shown kindness to him. Even something as small as a smile was never given to him. Nara walked over to me and Naruto watched her. He looked to me and strolled in the other direction.

"Kakashi, I need to ask you something." Nara said once she was by my side. She and I had become close friends. She had shared her past with me and only me. Before I knew it, I began creating feelings for her. We have an age difference of six years, so it's not so bad, but she's still young right now. Of course, she's always been incredibly mature no matter how young she is.

"What do you need?" I asked as we strode through the village.

Her voice became incredibly low. "I want you to teach me lightning."

My voice was equally as low. "That would be all five elements, Nara."

"I know this." She replied with a regular voice.

I shrugged off my doubt. She had learned four of them. She is an incredible shinobi for her age, and I believe she can become one of the best. "I'll do it."

"Thank you, Kakashi." She said with a smile.

"On one condition." I countered. She lifted her eyes to me for what I would say. "You have to teach me earth jutsu."

"Sure." She responded. "Are you free now to start training me?"

"Well, I was going to get lunch. How about you join me, then we can go train?" I asked with a hint of excitement in my voice.

She made eye contact with me even though she couldn't see me. I found much happiness in knowing that I was one of the main ones that she actually looked to when she spoke. "That sounds good."

Guy met up with us at the restaurant. We all laughed and made fun of each other. I haven't that much in quite a while. Guy insisted that our waiter took a few pictures of us. We had a nice picture of the three of us smiling to the camera. The other four pictures were crazy fun ones. Guy told me when he left that he get them developed and give them to me when he saw me next.

.: :.

I stopped in front of Nara's apartment. Yesterday, she informed me that she'd be going on a long mission. It was a mission only for her to take.

I breathed in deeply and knocked on the door. Nara opened the door with a bright smile. She tilted her head to the right, "Morning, Kakashi."

"How are you so cheerful in the mornings?" I replied. I recall our missions together and every morning, she was always so happy and joyful.

She shrugged, "It just happens." Kota poked his head around the door and looked at me. He has grown quite a bit since the first time I saw him. "Come on in." she stated.

I walked in and looked around. She had taken down all the things that spoke out this was Nara's apartment. On her bed laid her pack that she would take with her.

"How long will this mission take?" I questioned.

She had a sad expression on her face. "The Hokage simply said that it would take a long time. He wants me out there for about a year."

A year without Nara? "A year, huh? That's quite a long time."

She picked up a box from the floor, "You don't have to sound so upset, you know."

I took the box from her hands so that I could help. "How am I supposed to react?"

She shrugged to me. "I don't know. It's just another mission." She stated plainly.


	6. Returning

Kota and I walked towards Konoha. We were so close. "It's been four years, Nara." Kota said to me.

"Yeah. We're finally returning, Kota." At the age of sixteen, the Third Hokage gave me an S-rank mission. I haven't seen Konoha in four yeas. Now, I am twenty.

"You think _he_ is in there right now?" The black wolf asked me.

I sensed carefully. There were quite a few people in Konoha, and I finally found the chakra that felt so familiar.

I looked down to the black wolf and smiled. "He's in there right at this exact moment."

"Are you excited to see him again?"

I pulled off my glove and felt of the scar on my right hand. "Yeah. I hope he feels the same."

"I'll bite him on his nose if he doesn't." Kota replied mostly with a humorous voice, but there was a hint of truth in it.

We entered the gate and the two soldiers at the gate approached me. "Name, village, and clan." They demanded.

I smiled. "I'm Nara and I'm from Konoha."

The two looked up, and realization dawned on them. "Nara! It's been so long." One of them said.

"I bet Kakashi will be thrilled to see you." The other said.

"I truly hope so." I said with a smile. I removed the hood from my head. I was in Konoha now, so there was no need to wear it.

"What brings you back?" the first one asked.

"The Hokage requested my presence for the Chuunin Exams."

"Everyone sure is pumped about the third part of the exams. That Uchiha Sasuke will bring in a huge crowd." The second one said.

Uchiha? Itachi flashed in my mind. So, Sasuke is Itachi's younger brother. That would be the only reason he was allowed to live.

"Well, I'm going to go report to the Hokage." I said and began walking through the village.

Kota walked by my side. He and I were inseparable. "You remember where the Third's office is, right?"

"Yeah." Passing through the streets, I heard a few people stop walking to take a second glance at me. I suppose it's a good thing that I wasn't forgotten. After several minutes, we made it to the building with the Hokage in it. I made it to the top floor and knocked on the familiar door.

"Enter." Came a voice behind the door. In the room, I already sensed the Hokage and someone was with him. I couldn't be too sure, but his presence was similar to Gai's.

I heard a gasp come from the man who was standing away from the desk. "Nara! You're back."

I smiled. "Observant as always, Gai." I could feel his smile. I could always pick on him and he wouldn't take anything seriously.

"Nara." The Hokage spoke. "It's good to finally see you again."

I bowed slightly to the waist. "It's great to return to the village, Third."

Kota stood next to me. "Do you have anything more to report since the last letter you sent?" the Hokage asked.

I nodded. "I have reason to believe that Orochimaru will interfere with the Exams."

"He already has." Gai stated.

"What did he do?" I asked.

"He left his Cursed Seal on Uchiha Sasuke."

_So that was his target._ "That's all he did?" I asked.

"The Intel Department is looking more into the situation, but Kakashi was able to nullify the seal as long as Sasuke doesn't use its power."

Sasuke, Itachi's brother. I heard everything from that night, and I have a feeling that Sasuke will do anything for revenge.

"I see." I said.

"Now for the reason that I requested you, Nara."

"Yes sir."

"I want you to be an examiner in during the third part of the exams."

"An examiner, sir? Why would you want me as one?"

"Do you remember Uzumaki Naruto?"

"I have never been acquainted with him, sir, so no."

"Well, he possesses the Kyuubi within him. I thought whom better to restrain him than you if it came down to that. You have excellent chakra control."

"Me against the Kyuubi? I think you overestimate me."

"You think so? I believe not. Anyway, it's merely precautionary measures. Don't let him lose control, Nara."

"Yes, sir."

"You are dismissed. The exam day will be in one week."

"How long did you give them to rest?"

"A month."

I snickered. "You only gave my exam three days."

I heard the smile in his voice. "I guess I've gotten soft."

"It would appear that way. Anyway, what should I do until the exam day?"

"Konoha is your home. It's been four years, so go enjoy the village. Maybe you and Kakashi should catch up."

The thought made me happy. "Does he have any students in the exams?"

"Naruto and Sasuke both made it to the final part of the exams."

"Then he needs to aim his focus at training them for that big day." I half turned to Gai. "Don't let him know that I'm here yet, okay?"

"Why wouldn't you want him to know?"

"He needs to focus on the next generation. They will become the protectors of Konoha."

"Nara-san," Gai began but he stopped. "It's just, he hasn't seen you in four years."

"Then what's one more week?" I asked. Even as I said the words, pain struck my heart. I truly have missed Kakashi, but he has other worries at the moment.

"Fine." He said.

"Gai, may I have a private conversation with the Third Hokage?"

I heard him nod and exit the room. I looked in the direction of the Third. "What's on your mind, Nara?"

"Sir, I have been on this mission for four years…" I searched for the words to continue with. "I just-well, I was wondering if…"

"You want to leave that mission?"

"It's been difficult, sir. Four years away from a village that took me in as its own. You showed me kindness when my first village didn't. Don't misunderstand, I was honored of the mission you established to me."

I heard him sigh. "I never expected to have you on that mission for that long either. I wanted to learn more about Orochimaru's whereabouts. You discovered so much information compared to anyone else I sent out. You were the perfect candidate. You still are, but the village has missed your smile."

I smiled subconsciously from the compliment. "I've missed Konoha terribly."

"Thank you for all the information you uncovered. We at least have several areas that are possible to be his hideout. On the plus side, you also found information about Akatsuki."

I remained quiet. I didn't know what to say. The Hokage continued, "You went beyond my expectations, even the expectations of several Council members. You never surprised Kakashi, though. He always saw greatness in you."

"How has he been?"

"Tied down with his team. He has been back on D rank missions and a few C rank missions. I hate putting his talent to those missions, but his students are prospering greatly."

I nodded. He always said he wasn't the teaching type, but I knew he has a certain side for it.

.:Kakashi:.

I walked across the water. This area brought back so many memories. Good memories, none of them were bad. They were all with Nara, too, so that's probably why they were never bad.

We were six years apart. I never thought we'd become such close friends. Even back then, she had such wisdom for her age. I always found it easy to open up to her just with simple conversations. She would sit and listen. She knew when I needed a nudge in the right direction, but she also knew when I just needed to vent. On the venting days, she would merely sit by and listen without saying a word.

I smiled, but it quickly faded. With the Chuunin exams over, she will probably leave again. I hope she doesn't…

I walked into the forest and found the stream. Next to the stream was a huge tree with a giant branch hovering over the stream. Sitting on that branch was a familiar blind woman.

I jumped up there and sat down next to her. I waited several seconds. She normally starts a conversation. I wonder if the death of the Third is taking a toll on her.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" I asked.

She raised her head with a wide smile. "It is indeed." She pointed to the other side of the stream. "Over there, a mother fox just fed her little ones."

"You still have keen senses I see."

"Yeah."

Now to bring up the situation. "I heard that you declined the Hokage position."

She nodded. "You heard correctly."

"You would have been the youngest Hokage, you know."

"Titles mean little to me." She said as she lowered her head.

"It's not your fault that he's dead. Orochiramu's men put up a tough barrier."

"I was given the mission to travel for gathering Intel about rising groups and protect all of the Hokage. Even when I was here, I was worthless."

"Worthless? Are you joking? You actually broke through the barrier! That's not something to take lightly."

"But I was too late, and that means I failed."

"Originally, you were brought here to make sure Naruto didn't lose control during the exams."

"Just because I was given another mission doesn't mean I just slide the other ones away."

"Nara, it's been four years. You have helped use greatly in gathering information. Stop being so hard on yourself."

"I suppose so."

"Also, I haven't had a chance to say that it's nice seeing you again."

Her face turned from sadness to happiness. "It's good to see you, too."

"So, I've been told to ask you to accept the position of Hokage. They sent me since I am the closest friend to you, or at least that's how it used to be."

She removed her right glove from her hand. There was the same mark on my right hand. "We cut covenant, Kakashi. You are my best and closest friend right next to Kota."

"Oh, the mutt beats me?" I chuckled.

She laughed in turn. "No, no. That's not what I meant."

"I know. Then tell me, since I am your closest friend, why won't you take the Hokage position?"

Her blind eyes stayed in my direction for a moment. "You sure are persistent today. Normally I give you an answer and that's it."

"They told me to ask you. I'm sure I understand why you declined, but it's merely an assumption. And they won't just take an assumption."

"What's your assumption?" she asked.

"The same thing you told Tsunade and Jiriaya-sama." I remember that day. I thought Nara was insane for denying the positions that Tsunade and Jiriaya placed in front of her. She stated 'with or without the title, I'm still me. Also, people will find it strange since I am so young.'

"That's partial." She replied.

"Then what's the rest?" I asked. I picked up a leaf and watched as it flew down to the stream.

"Well, I'm still young. People of the village will think that I don't have any wisdom. People of outside countries will see it as an opportunity to start war with assumption that they'll win. It will just cause too much trouble."

"Okay. That's the young part. You already stated you were too young for the Sannin title. What other reason do you have?"

She smiled. "I'm also blind. People will see me as weak, and war will start again. Pointless war."

"So that's it then?"

"Yeah. That's it."

I nodded several times. "Fair enough." I shrugged.

"I heard that Naruto was part of your team."

"Yeah. He is."

"How does it feel to have a whole team under you that you have to lead and watch over all the time?"

I laughed. "Not too bad actually. I think you would love teaching young ones."

"I'm not too sure. At that age, they think they know everything. They also think they are unstoppable. No thanks."

"Ah, it's not so bad, you know." I paused, wondering if I should say the words deep in my heart. Might as well. "It would give you a reason to stay…" I lowered my head towards the stream.

"Kakashi," she began, but stopped. I looked up to her and knew that she was finding the words to say. "I guess you don't know yet, huh?"

"What?" I asked trying to hide the worry in my voice.

She smiled her bright, beautiful smile. "I told the Third Hokage before he died that I was going to take a break from the missions."

"So that's means you'll stay in Konoha for a while?"

"Yeah. I will still go on missions, but nothing as long as that mission."

"But what about Akatsuki?"

"I'll be put on regular A rank missions again and gather information while on those."

"You think A rank missions are easy?" I asked with a snicker. "You think you're all fancy with your major S rank mission?"

"I remember them very well. The Third said he would put me back on A rank unless I preferred doing S ranked again."

"What if the next Hokage disagrees?"

"Then I will tell the Fifth that I'm tired of traveling all the time. I miss my home."

I could hear the hurt in her voice. I wondered if she missed me at all. God knows how much I missed her. "I'm sure Konoha will be able to sleep better with you around."

"Hmm." She said looking towards a distant tree. "I'm surprised people remembered who I am."

"Of course we remember. We never forgot."

"Are you expecting me to be relieved?" She asked.

"No, I don't. I _know_ you're happy to be back. I _know_ you're happy to hear my voice again. Aren't you?" I asked with a smile.

She laughed. "You haven't missed a beat. You're just as observant as back then."

"Ah, really? I thought I was a little better. I guess I need to try harder then."

"You seem a little more laid back from last I remember."

"I guess you rubbed off on me."


	7. Team Kakashi

I sat on the ground leaning against the tree trunk. The sun was high in the sky, but I forgot how amazing it was for there to be no humidity. I smiled. Kota yawned next to me.

I felt Kakashi's presence walk over to where I was sitting. "It'll be nice going on a mission with you again." He spoke with a smile.

I stretched my arms. "No kidding. We used to have so much fun on missions when we weren't fighting the enemy." I smiled from the memories. I was put on two different teams before the Hokage placed me on Kakashi's team along with Gai. They would always bicker about rivalry, and I was simply there to make sure things didn't get out of hand. Things never did, but they were the first team that accepted me despite me being unable to see.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke came in their group and stood by the gate. Naruto spoke first. "Kakashi-sensei? You're never early! You're always late!"

I rose off the ground. This was Naruto. He had the Kyuubi inside of him. I wonder if the Kyuubi remembered me from that night.

All their eyes fell on me. "You're that one girl from the Exams." Sakura said.

"Yes, I am." I replied. When I moved from the tree, Kota followed beside me. "I've never seen a dog like him before."

"Well, that's because he is a wolf."

"A wolf?!" Naruto interjected. "Those things aren't domesticated, so why is he following you around?"

"No, typically wolves aren't domesticated, but Kota here is different."

"By the way, that wolf has grown in the past four years." Kakashi entered the conversation.

"That is the nature of things," Kota countered with a deep voice. "As time passes, creatures age." Kakashi walked over and patted Kota lightly on the head.

Sasuke hadn't said anything. I could sense that he was staring immensely at my eyes. At last, he spoke. "You're blind?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah."

"Wait!" Naruto yelled out. "This woman is blind and the Fifth Hokage said that she was one of the best in Konoha?!"

I felt myself shrink back. "I believe she is exaggerating."

"I'll say," Naruto continued with a cocky attitude, "I could take you on easily."

"You better watch your tongue, Naruto. She could take you with her hands tied behind her back."

I smiled and turned my back to him. "Well, we're comrades; hopefully, it'll never come down to that."

.:Kakashi:.

Nara walked across the water. It was so calm and tranquil, yet uneasy. She exhaled and unsheathed her bladed tonfas. She used water jutsu and created three clones. They transformed their tonfas into different weapons since not many people use tonfas.

Kota and I stood by the side of the lake and watched as she trained. Even though many people said it was ridiculous training, it was incredibly difficult. Fighting herself while maintaining chakra control to stay on top of the surface; also, having different styles of weaponry.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura walked quietly by my side. "Don't worry about trying to stay stealthy." I said.

"We don't want her to know that we're observing her." Sakura replied.

I laughed lightly. "She sensed you guys probably all the way near the castle."

Sasuke looked up to me. "She can sense that far?"

I nodded. "I'm pretty sure she can sense farther."

"What if we took pills to hide our presence?" Sasuke said with a low voice.

"Trust me, she sensed you three." I crossed my arms and leaned against the tree near me.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

My eyes averted to her. "Yeah?"

"I… have heard rumors that… Nara was offered the Hokage position." She lowered her gaze. "I was wondering if they were true."

"Rumors aren't always true. They have been over exaggerated somewhere down the line, but yes, Nara was offered the Hokage position."

"She was the offered to be Hokage when I wasn't?!" Naruto burst out. From that outburst, Nara's face tilted toward our direction. I saw her sigh and dismiss the clones. She walked calmly across the lake.

"Yeah. She was, but she declined it three times."

"Three times?" Sasuke asked with surprise evident in his voice. "What kind of power does she have?"

"Does it matter?" Naruto was still sizzling. "How was she offered it when I wasn't?"

Sasuke's face turned to agitation and looked to Naruto. "Does it really surprise you why you weren't asked?"

"I'm going to become Hokage one day!"

Nara walked off the water and on to dry land. Even with her this close, I still couldn't sense her chakra.

"Why did you stop?" Sakura asked.

"Normally when someone trains alone, they don't like people observing them from afar. So, I decided that you three must want to train." Her gaze shifted to Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke.

Sakura's cheeks turned red, "No, no! It's not like that… I just wanted- well, I," She mumbled her sentence until it was silence.

"I want to train against you." Sasuke and Naruto replied in unison.

.:Nara:.

"Why did we have to take this mission again, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Would you rather be lazy in the village?" Of course Kakashi would love to, but Naruto would love to be training right now.

"I need to train more to become stronger!"

I turned slightly toward the young man. "Think of it as training because it is."

He sighed, but quieted down.

.:Nara:.

I sensed the road ahead to detect whether we should take a detour or travel by road. I sensed three men standing near the road. Two were above average ninja, but the third was harder to detect.

"What do you sense?" Kakashi could always tell if something bothered me. I smiled inwardly.

"Three men ahead. Two are decent ninja, but I'm not too sure about the third. He may be a trainee with two skilled jounins." There was something about his presence that didn't sit right with me, though.

"So we can walk straight through there undetected, right?" Asked Naruto.

I shook my head. "I and Kakashi could, but Naruto, you aren't a pro at being stealthy." I heard Sakura laugh lightly. "That goes for you, too, Sakura."

"I agree." She replied and lowered her head.

"We could take them!" Naruto persisted.

"It's best not to have conflict." Kakashi countered.

I studied the three men's chakra. The two seemed normal, but the third didn't seem average. I could tell that he was suppressing it well. Something about it felt familiar…

My thoughts broke when a woman screamed in the general area of the three men. Naruto didn't hesitate and jumped forth toward the sound.

"Naruto! Wait!" I gritted my teeth. He just won't listen to reason.

"Is that woman one of the three?"

"No. It's not. I don't sense another presence. They are trying to lure us, and Naruto fell for it."

I leapt forth into the trees as Sakura and Kakashi followed suit.

"What else do you sense about them?"

"The two don't really seem all that strong as I thought, but the third presence feels familiar. I recognize it, but I don't remember from where."

"Keep your guard up, Sakura. Stay behind one of us at all times."

"Yes, sir. But… I thought she said that they aren't as strong as she thought?"

"In Nara's life, she has encountered many instances against strong enemies with great amounts of chakra. If she finds the third one familiar, it could very well be a terribly strong opponent who has a trap in mind."

The three of us landed next to Naruto. Kakashi went first, I followed, then Sakura.

"What kind of sick game is it that you make it seem that a woman is in trouble?!" Naruto asked with rage.

_Calm yourself, Naruto, _I thought.

"We are actually positioned here to see how strong a team is." Said one.

"We set traps for them to fall into and test their abilities." Said the other.

"Who set you here?" Asked Kakashi.

"The Hokage of course." Answered the second.

"I wasn't informed of such an obstacle."

"We also test the leaders. And it's not looking like a passing grade for the lot of you." Said the first.

_Maybe if the third presence spoke, I could remember something, but he hasn't stated a thing._

"State your names."

I felt Kakashi's eyes glance to me and I simply nodded.

"Hatake Kakashi."

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Blah Sakura"

I could feel the three men's eyes hold on me. "Nara." I said.

"Just Nara?" Spoke the third. It was very familiar. "You have no clan, Little Dragon?"

Fear expressed my face as recognition swept through my memories. With such speed, he flew to where I stood and pressed his hand against my stomach where my seal was.

He released his attack, and I could feel the Dragon's chakra sweep through my body. I collapsed to my knees trying to suppress the power.

"Nara!" Naruto yelled, but three other men sprung from underneath the ground. _How did I miss that?!_

The power began to subside and I rose back to my feet. It was still trying to escape, but I was constantly holding it back.

Then water crashed on to me to where I couldn't breathe. The water flowed over me and I gasped for air.

The two men gripped my wrists as the third electrocuted me. I yelled from the pain.

"How does it feel, Little Dragon? Your two worst fears coming at you. How will you stand against them?" The electricity stopped, but it still surged through me. My heart pumped rapidly.

Another gush of water splurged around me and engulfed me into its sphere. I couldn't move, nor could I breathe. Tears slipped from my eyes and into the water. I was terrified.

"Nara!" yelled out Kakashi. "Break the technique!"

_Concentrate, Nara!. Feel the wind moving through your body and out of your hands. You don't have to use hand signals, just release it. Forget the memories, just break the technique._

Wind blades whipped all throughout the sphere and destroyed the barrier. I fell to the ground gasping for air. I couldn't move my arms or feet.

The man pulled me off the ground with force. "My, my, Little Dragon. Lost your touch, have you? I remember you being better ten years ago." He shoved his hand at my stomach again. This time, he held two stones. The stones penetrated my armor and seeped into my seal.

The dragon's chakra seeped more out onto my skin. "What… did you do?" I asked through the pain. All of a sudden, color invaded my darkness. I... could see.

"Those are my Crimson Stones. I made them specifically for you, Little Dragon. You and any other junjuruki." He laughed. "Isn't it wonderful. If my theory is correct, one stone can cause disruption in your chakra. So even if you meant to kill me, you can't since the stones protect me. Two stones means that I can control your chakra for the most part. I control your body. Three stones means that I can pull out _his_ power. Four means he can't harm me. Can you guess what five does?"

He extended his hand and forced me to my knees with my hands spread out. I grunted from the power he held over me.

"You're a smart one, Nara, so I'm sure you already know. It means the power of the dragon will be under my control. Trust me, I planned this out well."

I tried to move any part of my body, but it refused to listen to me.

"I have people who work for me. They give me information about you whenever I need it. I gathered all the information I could. Might I say, you are one skilled shinobi." He laughed. "The ability to control all five elements! That truly caught my attention."

_Who knew that I could do all five elements? I have only told Kakashi that, and he would never do this._

"My spy would send birds over to me while you trained. Anyway, I had to make sure you couldn't detect my other three men, so they simply hid under the earth. I have trained them to suppress their chakra with the dirt to even fool you."

"The two above ground were shadow clones?" I asked. Ridiculous. I can always tell the difference.

"Correct, Little Dragon. Now, your friends are fighting with them. Won't it be great to call on that great power and then kill the closet people to you?!" He laughed wickedly.

He walked towards me and pulled three more stones from his pocket. "How wonderful, don't you think?"

_I have the power to break away from this! I have trained hard and long. I can break away. Sakura… Naruto… Kakashi._

With that, wind burst from me. The man was pushed back and I used the wind to pull the stones to me. I stood up. Drenched and tired, I held the three stones he was about to insert into me in my left hand.

I heard Team Kakashi still fighting. I induced a large amount of chakra into my right hand and pulled my chainmail up. I pressed my hand into my stomach where the seal was. I coughed up blood from the action.

"Stop her!" Yelled out the third man.

The two men left their fight with the others and jumped me. Wind burst from my stance again and cut them away from me.

The wind chakra continued to circle around me to provide a shield. Pain coursed through my body as I fused my chakra to attract the two stones out of me. With a blood soaked hand, I dropped the stones on the ground and took my stance.

_Concentration is the key_, I told myself. The stones floated in the air, and I induced my chakra into each one.

I knew it would consume all my energy just for the two, but they all had to be destroyed. I felt my body growing weaker and weaker. I could barely stand now. I decided that it was finally enough. The battle outside had ended since the men who attacked us had run away. The others were too worried about me to stop them.

I flicked my wrist and snapped my finger. "Break." The crystals shattered and fell before my feet. The seal of the dragon withdrew him, and I felt the full force of using that much chakra. My body fell from under me.

Gentle hands caught me and held me close. He brushed my bangs out of my face.

"Naruto. Sakura."

"Yes?" they said in unison.

"We're going back to Konoha. We will give this mission to another team." I could hear the regret and hurt in his voice.

With that, he flew to the trees followed by the other two.


	8. Escape

**| "A beautiful bird is the only kind we cage." |**

* * *

I yelled out in pain. Sweat trickled down my brow. I was exhausted, but there was no rest in this forsaken place.

"Are you afraid?" He asked me. I gritted my teeth. I couldn't move my arms to punch him. I was bound by chains.

"No one is going to save you, you know."

I attempted to move, but the chains barely made a sound. The chains numbed my body and chakra.

"What do you want with me?" I whispered.

"She finally speaks." Kabuto said with a laugh. He placed his hand under my chin and lifted me up to him. "You are a very powerful asset that we can use. You will be very useful to us."

"Don't count on it, Kabuto."

"Now, now, Nara-chan." He stepped closer and pulled me in a hug. "There's no reason to say such nonsense. Orochimaru is stronger than you, and now that he has his eyes on you, you can't run from him."

"Get away from me." I said trying to jerk away from him.

"You're going to be here for awhile. You might as well make a few friends." He said with a smile. He let go and walked to the door. "I'll bring Sasuke by later so you two can reminisce." With that, he closed the door, and locked it.

I pulled once more on the chains. Their main goal is to numb my vital chakra areas. Maybe if I focus hard enough, I can bypass it and send chakra to my feet.

I concentrated. I forgot the pain I was in. I forgot the importance of the situation. I had to concentrate on this particular thing.

A few minutes pass, and nothing happened. I breathed again as the beads of sweat ran down my head. Again.

Chakra lightly flowed from my feet. Focus, Nara. Use the wind and force it up towards the chains. Release.

I gasped for air when the chains broke from my wrists. My body fell to the forward. I could barely move. It didn't only numb my chakra, but it also absorbed amounts of it.

I have to get out of this place. I stood and stumbled to the door. My right hand gripped over my stomach. My chakra was unstable and out of balance. I had to avoid attacks and search for a way out. Also with my chakra like this, it's hard to suppress it. I'm as noticeable as Naruto.

I limped against the wall. I have to use wind chakra once more. Focus, release. The door fell from its hinges and I placed it against the wall. I didn't want to give away my presence because of a door.

I limped in the hallway. I remembered the route Kabuto brought me here through. I just needed to back track.

I walked up stairs and the sunlight kissed my face. I was out of the hideout, but not from danger. This is still enemy territory. I breathed in once more and jumped to the trees.

And that's when I sensed three figures. If I can remain quiet and suppress my chakra like I always do, I will be just fine.

I could feel chakra control returning to me each minute I'm away from those chains.

I decided to stop at the next tree. The three were near, but didn't seem to notice me. I wonder if either of them is Orochimaru. As my foot touched the branch, pain coursed through my body. I forgot about that injury. Regret filled my head as I fell to the ground. I wasn't going to be able to land on my feet, so my body crashed with a loud thud.

A sound came from my left, and I jumped from the ground and dodged it. In return, I readied my stance for the next attack. The three were already in their positions.

"Looks like our prize is trying to escape." Kabuto announced. I gripped my bladed tonfas tighter.

In that instance, the man closest to him sent out his attack. As the snakes wrapped around me, I realized that it was Orochimaru. I gasped for breath. At this state, I was no match for him.

"We can't have her run off just yet. Right, Kabuto?" Orochimaru spoke.

"So this is the great Nara?" Came the third voice. It was Sasuke. "She seems kind of pathetic to me."

"That's not nice to say to our guest, Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru replied.

Sasuke's dark eyes stared into me. "Let me fight her." He finally said. Orochimaru's snakes around me tightened, and it in turn forced out air from my lungs.

Kabuto's eyes landed hard on Sasuke. "She isn't anywhere near her full potential. It's almost worthless to ask her to fight against your ego."

"Actually," Orochimaru interjected, "I'd like to see how she faces against Sasuke-kun." I felt the energy within Sasuke grow. He was forming his chakra into his hand to prepare for an attack.

"This all feels very one sided." I said as Orochimaru's snakes let go of me. In that instant, Sasuke's lightning sword jutsu formed and he was about to attack.

Quickly, I formed the seals to create the dragon jutsu. The dragon armor covered my body just in time for his attack. He paused in surprise. My eyes changed to the dragon's vision.

"You used all five elemental seals?" His Sharingan must have caught all of them. It's pointless unless he can do all five elements, so he can't copy my armor.

I bit into my thumb and summoned Masashi. Orochimaru's face turned into a maniacal grin and Kabuto stared in admiration.

"Forgive me, Masashi." He looked to me with understanding in his eyes.

"There's nothing to apologize for. Just simply get out alive." I placed my hand on his back and smiled. His energy flowed into me and made my chakra flow rapidly again. I inhaled and exhaled.

My chakra was about fifty-nine percent replenished when Masashi was almost out. I stopped pulling on his energy.

"Man, Nara," He exhaled heavily. "You have so much chakra." I felt Sasuke building up his chakra to form fire. Just in time, I formed a wall in front of Masashi and I.

"Thanks, old friend." I said as I turned around and raced off in the forest. Masashi vanished back to the dragon realm so he could rest. I heard Kabuto and Sasuke chasing after me. I infused chakra into my feet, more than I normally do, and I pressed even harder toward Konoha.

I remembered one year ago that Daichi said that since I have the dragon sealed inside of me, I was enabled to "sap" energy from other dragons. I'm not stealing their jutsu, but I'm simply draining their chakra to fill mine. This is my first time using it in battle. It becomes incredibly handy, but the downside is that when I do run out of chakra on my way back to Konoha, I will feel the effects twice as bad.

Meaning that when I use up all my chakra, I simply need to rest over night and it replenishes. If I drain chakra once, I feel the effects if I had ran out twice all at once since it is doubled. If I drain chakra for a second time, the effects triple.

I was panting from the overuse of chakra, but I needed to make it back to Konoha. I formed the seals again and summoned Inari. She was the smallest dragon from the realm and she gripped tightly to my shoulder. She was lightweight and perfect for traveling around with. Her white tail wrapped around my right arm.

"Nara-chan, why have you summoned me at this speed?" She managed to say.

I smiled. "Sorry, Inari. I need you to do a favor for me."

"Alright. What is it?"

"I need you to stay with me for a while in my world if you don't mind. I have a feeling that once I reach Konoha, I will collapse and be unable to tell them of Orochimaru's plan."

"Why am I needed?"

"I'm going to tell you of everything that I've learned on this mission. I need you to tell Tsunade-sama, the Hokage, about what all I've learned."

"Why don't I just reverse summon you to Saya and allow you to rest. When you are ready, you can then return to Konoha."

I shook my head. "No. There will be another attack on Konoha soon, and I need to alert them right away."

I saw Inari hesitate. "I'm not too fond of your kind, Nara-chan… I wouldn't like being around them."

"I know. All you would have to do is tell them what I tell you and then you can return to Saya."

She lowered her head for a moment. "Masashi helped you by giving you energy, right?" I nodded for confirmation. "All right," she continued, "I will do this for you, Nara-chan."

.: :.

I finally made it to the village. I had exhausted the rest of chakra that Masashi gave to me, and the effects were taking their toll. The two shinobi at the gate waved at me, and I found some energy to smile to them, but I sped on. I jumped on the rooftops through the city and landed at the doors to the Hokage's building. I breathed heavily as I opened the door and began down the hallway.

With my dragon eyes still on, everything was beginning to black out and fade away. _Just a little more_, I told myself. I could feel my heartbeat in my ears. Shikaku saw me in the hall.

"Nara! Are you alright."

"I need to see the Hokage," I breathed out my mouth.

"She's meeting with Kakashi's team at the moment."

I leaned against the wall, all energy draining from my being. "It's important." I continued down the hall with my body against the wall for support. He slipped his hand around my waist and helped me to the door. My eyes no longer had the chakra to sustain vision through the dragon. Shikaku knocked on the door.

Tsunade's voice came from behind it. "Enter."

I whispered to Shikaku as he unlocked the door. "This is as far as I need to go. Thanks, Shikaku." He understood that I wanted to walk in alone, so he let go of me.

I opened the door fully and walked in as my body fell to the floor.

"Nara!" Kakashi and Kota's voice sounded in my ears as they ran to my side. I coughed up blood on the floor.

"Inari." I breathed lightly as the little dragon slithered out of my bag and onto the Hokage's desk.

.:Kakashi:.

"Tsunade, the Hokage, I presume?" Inari asked.

"I am. Are you Nara's messenger?"

Inari nodded in return. "Nara was captured by Orochimaru." Shocked expressions fell on every face in the room. "She was placed in a room and overheard several conversations. From one of them, Nara found out that Orochimaru is planning on attacking Konoha again with some outside help."

"He can't even perform jutsu. How can he think he's any closer to winning this time?" Sakura asked.

"He knows several people that would love to see Konoha fall. One of them is the leader of a country, but the names of people and villages weren't talked about around her. Her information shows that they are targeting the West part of Konoha to attack first."

"I see." Tsunade said.

"I've never seen her this weak before." Naruto muttered.

Inari turned around and looked at Nara's limp body. "Nara extracted energy from another dragon and used that energy to refill her chakra."

"Is such a thing possible?" Tsunade asked.

The white dragon nodded her head. "The dragon Bijuu is the creature one with nature. Since she has _him_ sealed inside her, she has the capability to replenish her chakra from someone else's. By someone else's, only a dragon."

"Even with that extra chakra, she was damaged this bad?"

"Partially… The downside of using this energy is the side effect. Let's say that once she reaches her normal limit, it takes her two hours to recuperate. If she drains energy and molds it into chakra to enable her to fight longer, then the recuperation time doubles. It moves up to four hours. If she drains energy from a dragon for a second time without resting, the recuperation period is tripled, making it six hours. Not just the recuperation time, but the weight of running out of chakra that many times attacks all at once."

"Initially, you're saying that she's ran out of charka twice already and it's hitting her all at once right now?" Sakura asked to be sure.

Inari nodded. "Indeed… She's put herself through hell for this village."

Tsunade's hand tightened into a fist. I knew she hated putting Nara through all this, but Nara was truly the one she trusted to always come back. I understand that Tsunade probably feels that anyone else would die if they were sent out there.

I pulled Nara's unconscious body into my arms and lifted her off the ground. As always, she was so light to carry. Kota stood close by my side.

"How long was she running when she escaped from Orochimaru?" I asked.

"When she summoned me, she ran for five hours nonstop."

"I'm going to take her to the hospital." I stated.

In an instant, the little dragon flashed from the desk to the door nob just as I was about to reach for it. "How can I trust you with her?" She hissed at me.

"One of the scars on Nara's hand is from me. We cut covenant many years ago."

Her face changed from defense to sympathy. "Scar on your right hand? That means she did the same thing with one of the dragons."

"She told me about him." I smiled down to her. "Masashi if I recall correctly."

"What is your name?" She questioned.

"Hatake Kakashi. And yours is Inari?"

She nodded and jumped off the door nob. She gripped onto my shoulder and wrapped her tail around my right arm. "I'm going to come with you. Where Nara goes, I'll go."

I shrugged. "Fine by me." Inari clung to my shirt and Kota walked right by my side. Tsunade rose from her desk and followed me out the door.

"I'm going to personally examine her." Sakura and Naruto chased after us.

.:Inari:.

The way humans did things was different from the dragon ways. The leader never examines a body. If another dragon is capable of looking over a body, then that is the one that becomes qualified. Why was the Hokage, the leader of the village, the one that examined Nara?

Also, why do these people stay in this recuperating area room? I believe Kakashi called this place a hospital, but I don't quite understand why they stay here when all Nara needs is rest.

Out of all the people that came into the room, Kakashi was the one I stayed on. He was Nara's true friend since he cut covenant with her.

Tsunade finished and left after that. She stated that Nara is exempt from missions for four days. The pink haired girl, I believe her name was Sakura, left along with Tsunade. The blonde haired boy with the name of Naruto stayed for a few hours and made conversation with Kakashi. Kota lied next to Nara on the bed.

Night fell across the sky and Naruto took his leave. I guess with Kota by Nara's side, I'm not useful. I glanced over to Kakashi and he didn't look like he was about to leave.

"You don't have to stay if you need to return to your realm." Kakashi stated with a low voice.

"The longer I stay here, the more I learn about your kind."

"Didn't you observe Nara whenever she went to Saya?" He questioned.

"Well… yeah, I did. But I can see how different Nara is compared to the people I have seen."

"She's unique all right."

"I can remember what her chakra level felt like when she came to Saya… and well, only one person even comes close to the amount of chakra she can sustain."

"Oh? You mean Naruto."

I nodded my head once. "Yeah, I believe that was his name. He also has a sealed creature inside of him. One of the Tailed Beasts."

"Do you know why they have a huge amount of chakra?"

"Is it because of their chakra merging with the sealed creature?" I guessed.

He shook his head lightly. "No. They both had mothers that were from the Uzumaki clan. That clan has large amounts of charka. They both inherited it from their mothers."

"Clans?" I asked with a sad expression.

"Yeah. Don't you know what clans are?" I shook my head. "Oh, well, they are groups of people that someone is born into. Most clans have secret jutsu that is kept from outside clans, even if they are allies."

"That's absurd." I retorted without thinking. "No wonder your kind is always in war."

"How do the dragon kin differentiate each other's lineage?" He asked. He actually sounded interested.

"We all came from the same dragon mother. We are all brothers and sisters."

"We must seem despicable to your kind's eyes, huh?" He questioned.

I looked away from his masked face and up to Nara's. "I used to see humans that way… until I met Nara." I smiled from the memories with her. "She was always smiling unless she was concentrated on training. I have never seen a creature smile so often as she. Even now, seeing your kind push everything aside to make sure that she was fine."

"You don't have to stay here any longer if you do not want to. The medical assistants will watch over her just fine."

"You don't seem like you're willing to leave soon."

I saw a smirk through his mask. "Well, I don't get to see much of her, so I let this count as us hanging out so to speak."

"You're worried about her?" I asked to clarify.

"You see right through me." He replied as his head lowered to the floor.

"In Saya, the realm of dragons, Nara talks about you often with Masashi and I."

"Oh, she does?" He remarked with a smile. "What kinds of things does she say about me?"

"She really stated talking about you when she left on that long mission. She talked about how much she missed sensing your chakra when she trained. She would always laugh from how you tried to hide your presence more and more, but she merely became better. She said that she missed your sarcastic words to Gai."

"Yeah. I always tried to take more pills to hide my chakra, but she could sense me every single time."

.:Kakashi:.

Nara remained unconscious though the night and halfway through the next day. I have never seen her this drained before, but I suppose this is the consequence to using a dragon's chakra like she did. In doing so, though, she probably saved many lives.

Sakura walked in the door with Naruto. He had a wide grin on his face as he put a small basket of apples on the table. "I heard that she was a vegetarian. Every time I see her eat, she is enjoying apples. You think she'll like them, Kakashi-sensie?"

I smiled underneath my mask. "She'll love them, Naruto."

Almost as if on cue, Nara's eyes fluttered open slowly. Inari's grip on my shoulder tightened slightly. She must be excited for Nara regaining consciousness.

"You're awake." Tsunade said with a smile.

"It doesn't matter." Naruto interjected and stood by the bed. "Are you feeling okay? You need anything?"

Tsunade helped raise Nara up to a sitting position. "I'm fine." She replied with a small smile.

"Are you hungry? Sakura and I brought you some food." He eagerly said.

"I think I'm good for n-" A deep rumble from her stomach entered everyone's ears. Her cheeks turned slightly red as her head lowered. "Maybe some food isn't a bad idea." She reached over and grabbed an apple. She looked over to me. "Inari, why are you still here? I thought after you'd give the message, you'd return to Saya."

The little dragon hesitated. "Well, I- uh, well you know… I just thought." She jumped onto the bed and into Nara's lap. "I just wanted to make sure you were going to be fine." She fumed.

Nara shrugged. "Why are you getting upset?" she took a bite of the apple.

"You humans irritate me." She countered quickly.

Nara's smile widened. "You didn't have to stay this long and you knew that."

Naruto stared closely at the little dragon. "Are all dragons this small?"

Inari growled and turned around to face Naruto. "No, but I am the Keeper of the Scrolls. You know what that means, human? It means that I watch over and document all of the dragon's history. I am the main dragon that can reverse the jutsu for Nara to enter Saya. That's not small business." She seethed.

Naruto scratched his head in thought. "So you're the smallest of them. Why didn't you just say so?" Naruto's expression showed understanding, but he really wasn't all that bright. In the next moment, Inari vanished. "I wonder why she is upset." Naruto commented.

Nara simply swallowed her bite from the apple. "She may be the smallest, but she is one of the more intelligent dragons. She really does have a kind heart and a desire to learn about humans, but because of the laws, she feels like she must show superiority over us."

"And you're fine with that?" Tsunade asked.

She shrugged. "Well…" Nara began, but hesitated. I understand why she puts up with it, but probably no one else in this room does besides Kota. "Besides Jiraiya, they were truly my first teachers."

"Ero-Sennin was your sensei?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

Nara chuckled. "Yeah. He taught me how to do the summoning jutsu."

"That's it?" Naruto questioned.

"Yeah. I watched him do a few other jutsus from the shadows and taught myself how to do those."

Sakura spoke up, "So, you were really taught by the dragons? Like they were your teachers and mentors?"

Nara placed the apple beside the table. "Just like a sensei," she grinned.

"How did they choose you?" Naruto asked. "You can only make a contract when the creature agrees. If no one has seen the dragons, how did they become your summon?"

_Not a bad question_; I thought to myself. Nara raised her head. "You two sure are chatty about my life today."


	9. Crystal Jutsu

"Where's Nara?" Naruto asked.

"She's outside. Come." I led him out of the house Yamato built. I was surprised when all of them followed me to where Nara was training.

Lee spoke first. "Kakashi, is Nara alright? Because… I've never been able to sense her chakra before, but now, I can."

I walked as the group followed behind me. Even Yamato and Shizune followed. "When the Bijuu appeared, her chakra began to go unstable. She still suppressed her chakra, but that dragon wanted to be free for some reason. Before that, she has been figuring a way to counter attack the crystal element user."

"In that amount of time, do you think she has come up with an idea? She didn't even see our full report on it." Shizune said.

"She studied the chakra that was used in it. She may not be a medical ninja, but she can be as precise as one."

Sakura entered the conversation. "Just remember her chakra control since we've met her. Even when she uses chakra, it's still difficult for me to sense her. There's no wasted energy."

"Correct. And her stamina coupled with that precise control," I stopped my sentence as I stared out into the trees. There she was. Nara barely stood on her own two legs, exhausted.

"She…" Shizune began, stunned. "She did it!"

Nara turned towards us. Her breathing was heavy and she gripped the left side of her stomach.

"And she learned it that quickly with her chakra being out of balance."

"Kakashi…" She barely whispered. "How did you guys sneak up on me?" With that, her body lost control and she fell forward to the ground. I used my speed and caught her in my arms.

Yamato walked towards us. Kota sat next to the beautiful woman in my arms.

"I haven't seen her this exhausted in a long time." The black wolf said.

"Yeah. Given the circumstances, it's amazing how long she endured. I can still feel the dragon trying to move."

As if on cue, the dragon spoke. "_You're right. She is rather amazing. She has made me think more about humanity."_

Lee gasped. "Was that-!"

Ten-ten interrupted. "The Dragon Bijuu?! It can talk outside of her body?"

Yamato answered for me. "Yeah. He doesn't do it often, though."

I pulled Nara closer in my arms. Kota scooted closer to his friend. "Why did you try to take control?" I asked.

"_The Three-Tails was calling to me_."

"He was calling to you?"

"_Yeah. He wants to know how I feel about humanity. He and I wanted to study humans and become part of them. After nine humans, he gave up hope for the race._"

"He gave up hope?" Nara quietly asked. She began to sit up, but her body was too exhausted.

"_He and I were the only two Bijuus who wanted to understand the humans. We wanted to connect to them and feel what they feel. After his ninth person releasing the full power, Three-Tails gave up on humanity and spent his days in another dimension in a lake._"

"Then why are you so eager to talk to him?" I asked.

"_I need to tell him that not all humans are power greedy. Not all of them are the same as the previous ones we have been in._"

"Why didn't you just ask Nara to go out there and talk to him?" Yamato asked.

The dragon didn't answer for a moment. Everyone was silent and wanted to know the reply. Even Nara held her breath awaiting the reply.

"_I wanted to be sure that I could back up what I would say._"

She grunted and sat up in pain. "That was all a test?" She coughed and blood splattered in her hand.

"_It was._"

She relaxed her muscles and let out a breath. She began to stand, but I put my hand on her shoulder. She stopped moving.

"Allow me to help you."

She sat still and simply nodded. I pulled her even closer to me and lifted her off the ground. Kota stood by my side and waited for me to walk first.

I looked behind me to the aftermath of her using the technique. Crystal spikes plunged into about thirteen trees and some lay shattered on the ground. Few crystal spikes were plunged into each other, but none of them pierced the other.

"You didn't just learn the technique, you perfected it."

She smiled. "Nothing is perfect. I just simply made it better."

I walked into a room and Yamato, Shizune, and Kota followed me. Shizune pulled out a blanket and I gently laid Nara on the soft surface. Kota lied down right next to her with his head on her stomach.

"What do you mean she perfected it?" Shizune asked.

I took one last look at Nara and walked out of the room. If she needed anything, Kota would tell me. Right now, she needs rest and the others need a plan.

I stood in front of the group outside of the house. All their eyes focused on me. "Alright. Given what we know, we need to forge a plan."

"Kakashi," Shizune persisted, "tell me what you meant by she perfected it."

I looked at Naruto. "Naruto, try to break that crystal with your new jutsu."

A big smile appeared on his face. "No problem, Kakashi-sensei!"

He summoned the frog and they readied themselves for the attack.

"The crystal element is a jutsu difficult to learn unless you know what to look for. Nara studied several pieces from the first sight. She went over the elements of the crystal to figure out a great way to find a weak point."

"And did she?" Kiba asked. I watched as Hinata picked up one of the pieces of pink crystal Nara was carrying. She focused her bakyugen on it.

"I can see the complexity of it, but I can't even begin to break down its elements."

"Are you about ready, Naruto?"

"Yeah. Just tell us when."

I picked up the crystal that Hinata held. I felt around it sensing the pressure point. "Everything has a weakness." I pressed my thumb on it, and it shattered. "You just have to know where the pressure point is, and how to attack it. Go ahead, Naruto."

The frog and he summoned their chakra together and released the water hurricane. Fog was created and everyone waited to see the result. Once the fog cleared away, the crystal spike Naruto attacked was unscathed.

"How did she do that?!" Kiba yelled out.

"I will tell you all that she researched since this is a desperate mission. The crystal element is combined with three different elements: earth, fire, and wind."

"Three different elements?" Hinata said.

"And those three, of all the combinations." Shizune whispered.

"Correct. Essentially, it starts out as earth jutsu. Combing with fire, the earth takes a new form. Adding wind to the fire, gives it the perfect shape and hardness."

"How did she find the weak spot?" Naruto asked.

I sighed. Should I tell them that Nara has learned each element? I promised her that I would never tell anyone.

"She is sensitive to sensing chakra. She can tell what type of jutsu a user will commit to by just being near them. By studying the crystal, she found a spot that wasn't as strengthened as the rest. There, you apply the element to break it."

"To do that…" Sakura began, but paused. "You would have to use two elements at the same time in equal amounts. And it would have to be water and lightning."

"That's right."

I saw a question rise on her face, but she resisted in asking it. I assume she realized what Nara could do.

"So how did she make it better?" Naruto asked.

"She added another element to the equation."

"She can- no way! She can use four elements?" Kiba asked.

Shino, who has been silent this whole time, spoke. "Does it really surprise you, Kiba?"

"Shino." He replied. Then he thought for a moment.

"Tsunade-sama and Jiriaya-sama both laid down their sannin titles to that young woman. The Third Hokage requested she be the next one to watch over the village." He glanced over to me. "Am I right?

I nodded. "Yes. The Third met with me before the Exams and said if anything happened, he wanted _her_ to watch over the village."

I was surprised when Naruto didn't say anything on the subject. He already knew this information, but he never shuts up when it comes to the Hokage title.

"She declined the Third's last wish?" Asked Kiba.

Naruto was the one to speak. "No. She declined the Hokage position. What the Third wanted was for her to watch over Konoha, and that's what she has been doing."

He's grown to respect her decision.

"Kakashi-sensei, I have a question to ask you." Naruto said.

"Go ahead."

"How long has Nara been able to use all five elements?"

Even Naruto noticed. "She was sixteen when she completed the chidori."

"She knows all five?" Hinata asked quietly. "I have never heard of anyone being able to do that… And she learned at such a young age."

"Is that how she created her dragon armor technique, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto continued.

I nodded in return. So he realized it in that fight. "She has worked on that ever since she first left Konoha."

"At frist," Naruto continued, "I thought she used some chakra from her Bijuu and combined it into her skin, but this whole time, it's only been her."

I nodded. "Yeah. In her theory, combining all elements creates the ultimate shield. And you have seen the results of it."

I sat on the steps and gazed at the crystals. I slipped my hand into my jacket and gripped the leaf pendant on my necklace. It may seem little and insignificant, but it means everything to me.

Yamato sat next to me. "I remember the day she left on her own journey. You handed her a leaf pendant necklace and said 'Don't forget about Konoha. Please come back.'"

I glanced at my smiling friend. "I saw it in your eyes that day," He continued. "I saw the hurt you felt of watching her leave. You knew she was talented, but I knew that you wanted to leave with her and travel alongside her, but you knew your duties lied within Konoha. I know that day you wanted to say, 'Don't forget about me.'"

"What we want is not always the best thing to do." I said, but even I couldn't believe my words. There was aching and hurting in them.

"What Nara did was wise. She became stronger, and so have you, Kakashi-senpai. If she didn't care for you, why would she have kept the little trinket all these years?"

"What are you getting at?" I asked.

"It's obvious of your feelings for her, my friend. Just tell her. I can see the smile inside her when she is near you. Her blind eyes light up when she senses you near. And you always smile more when you are around her."

I was so thankful that it was dark out because I felt a tear fall from my eye. I removed my right glove and stared at the scar in the moonlight. I began to fiddle with the ring on my middle finger.

"She still has that friendship ring you gave her as well. Sheesh, do you notice anything anymore?" He smirked. "You first learned fire, and she learned wind. You gave her a red stone ring and she gave you a clear crystal ring." He placed a hand on my shoulder and walked away.

I gazed at the ground. Then I heard footsteps coming closer. I glanced up to see Sakura.

"I'm going to go check on her injuries. Care to join me?" I smiled and stood up. She walked up the stairs first, and I followed. She opened the door, and I noticed that Nara wasn't lying down on the floor.

Kota was snuggled up in her arms as she rested against the wall.

Her eyes looked over to the door sound. "Who's there?"

"Sakura and Kakashi."

She still can't sleep…

Sakura knelt down by her side and Kota moved out of the way. Sakura began healing the wounds.

"You should be resting." She said.

"I can't sleep." Nara replied.

"Sleep is the best medicine for you right now."

"It's difficult to." She said quietly.

"I will give you some sleep medication and see if that helps."

A tear fell from her eye. "I must look pathetic," She stated.

I sat beside her. "Sakura, I'll give her the medicine. You go ahead and get some sleep with the others."

After she looked into my eye for a moment, she gave in. "Alright." She handed me the medicine and walked out the door. I wrapped my arm around Nara's shoulder.

"Why would you say that you're pathetic? You already figured out the crystal jutsu. I think that's a big step."

She rested against my shoulder. I pulled her even closer to me and she put her head on my heart.

"Kakashi?"

"Yeah." I said.

"Please… don't leave me... like I left you."

It was rare for me to hear her say please.

"You didn't leave me. You were simply sent on a mission that took longer than expected."

"I was afraid." She sobbed. "Afraid that you would desert me. Afraid that I would be abandoned again…"

I choked back a sob. I didn't want to cry, but so many feelings being kept inside has to come out at some time.

"Nara, I-"

"It was wrong of me, Kakashi-san." This was the first time she has called me "san".

I held her tighter, and used one hand to wipe away a few tears. "There is no need for this."

"I just wanted you to know that it wasn't your fault."


	10. Isamu Clan

**| "Let no man pull you low enough to hate him." | Martin Luther King Jr.**

**| "Grace is contagious." | Unknown**

**| Atelophobia- fear of not being good enough. |**

* * *

I walked into the room. Naruto, Sakura, and Nara followed suit. Every now and then, I wished that Nara would walk by my side instead of a step behind me. That is her character, though. She would rather be under someone instead of leading a squad.

"Kakashi, Nara." Tsunade spoke. She raised her head from her desk and eyed Nara. Tsunade had become accustomed to Nara keeping her distance, but she still tested Nara any chance she had.

Nara took the hint from the long pause and stepped beside me. "Tsunade-sama." She replied.

"We have received a request from a clan out of our boundaries. They have heard about Konoha's strength and they trust us in succeeding in this mission."

"What's the mission?" Naruto asked.

"I was getting to that." Tsunade said with a furious tone in her voice.

"Not quick enough." Naruto mumbled.

"Naruto!" Tsunade yelled, and Naruto shrunk into a corner. I smiled from the outburst.

The Hokage sat back down in her seat and folded her hands. "It's an escort mission. But this mission is vital to Konoha. Failure will result in a war between two nations."

"What enemies does this clan have?" Nara asked.

"It's unknown. But they aren't the biggest clan forged on peace and prosperity."

"Understood."

"What clan is it?" I asked.

"The Isamu clan. They are intelligent and strong, but they requested us to help their lord be transported."

_Isamu?_ I'm not too familiar with them. In the corner of my eye, I saw Nara's facial expression change for a split second. I shrugged it off as nothing.

"For this mission, I appoint Nara as captain of the squad."

I glanced over to her and saw hesitation overcome her. She spoke with her head lowered to the ground. "Tsunade-sama, for this mission, I highly disa-"

"This is what I have decided. End of story."

"Hokage, I would rather Kakashi be captain for this mission."

"I have the final say, Nara. You are the leader of this mission."

"But, Tsunade," she persisted, "I reject. Let Kakashi be the leader."

"Nara!" The Hokage yelled. "What is with you? You've never done something like this before?"

I looked over to her. I could see that she was disturbed about something. I know she doesn't like being the leader, but rejecting the Hokage's orders like that was disrespectful.

She bowed slightly at the waist. "Please, Tsunade-sama, rethink your solution."

I looked to the Fifth and saw her hesitate. She looked to me, but I didn't know what to do.

She sighed heavily. "Everyone leave. Kakashi, you stay."

Sakura and Naruto exited with Nara trailing behind them. I saw her look over her shoulder at me with sadness in her eyes. Something about this mission was truly bothering her.

Tsunade crashed in her chair. "I've never seen Nara act like that."

"Something is bothering her. That's all."

"You say it like it's nothing." She laughed. "If something is bothering Nara, and she shows it, then it's not good at all." She said as she shook her head slightly.

"She hardly ever asks for anything. Grant her this, and she'll be fine."

"That's true. I just want to know what's troubling her."

"Nara won't open up about things too easily. It takes time with her. Even then, she still holds her secrets within the depths of her mind."

"Alright. For this mission, you are appointed as the leader, Kakashi. After everything Nara has done for me personally, I can at least grant her this request."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama."

"Dismissed."

.:Kakashi:.

"Sakura, Naruto, you'll watch over these areas near these wagons. Understood?"

They both examined the line of wagons and nodded their heads. They fiddled with their radio sets to make sure everything was ready.

"Nara, you and I will stay close to the lord of the clan."

She nodded her head. The door to the main wagon opened. A man dressed in many colors stepped forth and smiled. "Shinobi of Konoha, I wish to thank you for your hospitality."

I stepped forward. "It's no problem, sir. We will escort you all the way to the Isamu village."

He looked passed me and examined our group. "Are you sure that's enough manpower to protect me if bandits come? I am the lord of my village, you know."

_He really just underestimated us to bandits?_ "I assure you, sir, these shinobi possess great power and are stronger than they appear."

"You have two girls in your group! How should that make me feel safe?"

I pointed to Sakura. "Sakura here was taught by Tsunade-sama in medical jutsu. She is very qualified for this mission."

His eyes shifted to Nara. "And what about her? She looks weak and unbalanced."

Nara removed her hood from her face. "This is Nara. She was offered the position of Hokage."

"Offered it, eh? I guess once they saw her so called 'skills' they took back their offer." He threw his back and let out a huge laugh. "I mean really? She's blind!"

I gritted my teeth, but didn't say anything.

Nara spoke. "I apologize that I don't meet your expectations." With that, she walked to the other side of the carriage and prepared for departure.

"I thought something like this would happen." The lord shook his head. "Konoha sent me worthless ninja. Akio, get out here."

A man walked out of the carriage. He was a little shorter than I and he had brown hair. "Yes, father?"

"Make sure these shinobi do their job." He snickered and entered his carriage. Akio walked over to me and offered his hand.

"I apologize for my father. Long trips put him on edge."

"I can see. Anyway, you can ride in one of your wagons. We have this under control."

"I was commanded to help, and help is what I'm going to do."

"We don't have anymore transmitters, so you'll have to stay near one of us if you're fine with that."

He smiled. "Fine by me, sir."

Nara still seems bothered, so sending him over to her wouldn't be the greatest idea. Sakura may be googly-eyed at him the whole time. Naruto will be a goof-ball the rest of the time, but he may be the best choice. At least, this Akio fellow will have a laugh for most of the trip.

I activated the speaker for the radio. "Naruto."

"Kakashi-sensei?" He answered.

"I'm sending one of the lord's men to accompany you."

"You don't think I can handle this?!" He screamed in my ear. I cringed from the shriek in the receiver.

"Naruto! Just do as Kakashi-sensei says." Sakura interjected.

I sighed and pointed behind me. "Naruto is guarding that area on this side. Explain the situation to him."

He stood at attention. "Yes, sir." Then he took off.

Kota stood next to me. I bent to one knee and patted his head. "You're not traveling with Nara?" I asked him.

He hesitated. "Kakashi… she's deeply troubled right now. She asked me to give her some space for a few hours."

"I'm sorry, Kota. Are you all right? You two are inseparable."

"I'm fine. I'm just worried about her. Except for the times Tsunade asked I stay behind in Konoha, we've been side-by-side most of my life. I respect her to know that she needs room to breathe right now, but I'm just worried about her."

"I probably won't be much of conversation." I replied. "You may want to walk with Sakura. You can try Naruto, but he would become annoying after some time."

"I prefer to be with you, Kakashi."

"Why me?" I asked.

"I'm used to you. The only people I choose to stay beside are Nara, Tsunade-sama, and you. Nara trusts the two of you, and so do I."

"Then it's my privilege if you accompany me."

The carriage began to stroll forward. The caravan followed suit. My team walked beside our assigned wagons and carts. After about four hours of walking, Nara sensed eleven enemies ahead. She said they were merely greedy bandits, so I decided to let Sakura and Naruto deal with them.

Nara stayed alert for other enemies. That wasn't hard for her at all since she excelled in chakra sensory. Not only that, but her sense of hearing was incredible. By the end of the day, the lord stopped the wagons and carriages and decided to make camp. All the drivers and workers gathered around the fire.

Sakura and Naruto made a little campsite for our group, but Nara still distanced herself from us. We gathered around the fire and cooked fish that we caught earlier. I looked over in Nara's direction and saw her leaning against a rock. She sat there with her hood up.

I stood up and walked over to her. "How long will you keep sulking?"

She didn't move her head to acknowledge that I was here. I sat down beside her and offered her a fish on a stick. "I'm not hungry." She said.

"You haven't eaten all day, and you've been walking nonstop throughout today. You need some food."

"I don't want it." She replied as she pulled her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs.

"Nara," I began, "I'm worried about you. You even pushed Kota away today. I've never seen you this down. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine." She still didn't raise her head to me.

I sighed loudly. "No. You're hurting on the inside. We're your friends. Please, don't push us away. We're here for you." I placed a hand on her shoulder and returned to the fire. After a few moments, Nara appeared in the firelight. Her hood was down, but her face was vacant of her beautiful smile.

She sat down between Sakura and I. Kota stood up from his position and sat beside her. Nara's eyes still showed pain, but she patted the wolf's head as he leaned against her.

I wonder what's going through her mind, and what is hurting her like this. From the times she's opened up to me, I know that her mind is a troubling place to hide in.

.: :.

The next morning, we began the journey early. Naruto was reluctant to get up, but after some bribing, he was full of energy for this long day. Today, Akio requested he walk by me to observe how a leader gives orders.

"Kakashi." Nara came on the headset.

"Yeah?"

"Two ninja presences are closing in on my side."

"I want you to deal with them then." I replied.

"All right."

I saw Nara jump up the cliff and unsheathe her giant weapon. She did a simple wind jutsu for her and the two shinobi fell from the cliff. They were still alive, but badly injured. Nara landed lightly on the other side of the lord's carriage. She began to walk slower to get back to her position.

"Amazing." Akio mumbled behind me.

"She is an incredibly skilled shinobi." I said.

"You said she was offered to be Hokage?" He asked.

"Yeah, but she declined."

"Declined? Why would someone decline such a strong seat as the Hokage?!"

"She has her reasons." I replied simply.

"What are they?" the Isamu lord asked.

"She said she was too young and other countries would see it as a way to attack Konoha. The other reason was because she is blind. The other countries wouldn't take her seriously."

He remained quiet. When Nara and the lord first met, he didn't take her seriously.

"Couldn't she just show them her power?" Akio asked.

"Nara is the type that she doesn't want to prove herself to anyone. A person can underestimate her all they want. In the end, she stands victorious in combat."

"What all can you tell me about her?" the lord asked.

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Kakashi." Nara rang in my ear.

"Hold on one second, sir. " I pressed the button on the radio. "Yeah?"

"Five more shinobi two kilometers ahead of us."

"What are they like?"

"Three are fire natured. One is strong with weapons, and the other is strong in taijutsu." It still amazes me that she can tell all that from this distance.

"Can you take them by yourself?"

I could hear the smile in her voice. "Leave them to me." In the next moment, Nara, with chakra exerted into her feet, sped passed us and drew her sword. We watched as she used water techniques to quench the fires from the three ninja.

"What can you tell me about her?" The lord asked again.

"What do you mean?"

"How old is she. What is her clan? How long has she been blind? What elements can she use?"

"She is twenty-three. I'm unable to answer about her clan. She has been blind for as long as I've known her. And, she can use all five elemental jutsu."

"All five you say? I've never heard of such a thing."

She resorted to using wind chakra against the other two ninja. Before we even made it down the hill to the battle, it was already over.

Nara returned to her spot.

"She's the only one in Konoha who is able to do it."

"And you don't know anything about her clan?"

"Why are you so interested, sir?"

"I like to know about who is guarding me. That's all."

"Then what about the other members of this team."

"Yeah, yeah. But this girl is blind. I mean seriously, how good can she be?"

"She was originally chosen to lead this mission, sir. She's more than capable. I will say that she is stronger than I."

"Then why isn't she leading it?"

"She denied being captain."

"So she's someone who doesn't do what she's told? That's not a good quality for a shinobi."

"Sir, don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say that, you merely made a wrong assumption." I tried to say nicely, but I'm sure it didn't come out as calm as I had planned.

"How much about her do you really know, Kakashi? I mean do you truly know her real side?" He asked in a hateful tone.

"That is irrelevant."

"Whatever." He said and closed his window. Good riddance.

The rest of the journey was uneventful. A few more ninja and bandits appeared, but Sakura and Naruto handled them easily. Three days later, we had reached Isamu village.

The lord exited his carriage and had all the carts sent to his house. He turned around to face us.

"I guess you want your reward. But before that, I order that Nara steps forward." His voice became loud when he asked for Nara. I didn't like this. The white haired woman stepped beside me with her head held high.

"No, step closer."

I saw hesitation in her, but she couldn't refuse without knowing what the lord was going to do. "Yes, sir." She took two steps forward.

A crowd was beginning to form. I didn't like this one bit.

"Nara, I ask that you answer all my questions truthfully."

"Sir, where are you going with-"

He held up his hand. "You will do as I say."

She held her tongue, but I saw agitation in her eyes.

"Tell me what clan you are deprived from."

"I don't have a clan, sir."

"Oh, you don't? Well, then, can you possibly tell me how long you have been blind?"

Where was he going with this?! I saw Nara swallow, but she still held her head high.

"I was blind when I was seven."

"What caused you to go blind?"

Nara didn't answer. I watched as the lord's face changed to a wicked grin.

"Nara's a nice name, you know. But did you know that Nara has no meaning? It's the same as saying that you are nothing. Anything to add?"

Naruto stepped towards me. "What's going on, Kakashi?"

"Just stay back, Naruto."

"No, sir. I have nothing to add."

"Oh, really? So, you're going to hide the fact that you are a monster?!"

Nara simply shrugged. "I was never hiding it."

"Still the same little naïve girl as always."

"No. I'm a woman now, not a girl. I can hold my own." She remarked.

"Even after what happened, you chose to set foot back in this village? You know that I won't show mercy on you."

"I'm part of Konoha now. My relations with this village are no more."

"You were born in this clan, so you are still one of us, sadly. We don't want you, but we have to take responsibility for you."

"Responsibility?" Nara laughed. "Father, you sold me away to men who beat me. After that, they threw me out into the forest to die."

Father?! This was the man that gave her away? And this whole time we've been protecting him.

"There are ways to deal with monsters like you. You can bring nothing good to this world. The best thing for you to do is die."

No wonder she didn't want to be the leader of this mission. I needed to stop this.

I stepped forward. "That was a long time ago, sir. There's no reason to take 'responsibility' as you say."

"Stay out of this Konoha-scum! This doesn't concern you."

"Actually, what concerns Nara, concerns me."

"Leaders putting their life on the line for comrades." He rolled his eyes.

"No. She's my best friend."

"Then step away. Unless you want to be put through the same trial. Her verdict will also be yours. Her punishment will be yours, too." His grin widened.

"Kakashi." Nara said beside me. "I'll be fine." She smiled a bright smile and it was real. "There's no reason for you to go through this."

Her father spoke again. "So, you will go through with our trial willingly? That is your best choice."

"If I recall correctly, the trial is decided by the lord of the clan, correct?"

His grin showed victory. "You are right."

"After the punishment, I am allowed to leave?"

He laughed. "If you can handle the punishment."

I looked to Nara. She was deep in thought. I knew that she was going to go through with this trial so that conflicts between this village and Konoha don't occur.

She nodded. "I will go through the trial."

.:Kakashi:.

"For your past crimes, you will be severely beaten." Announced Nara's father to the people of Isamu.

Severely beaten? In breaking her body, he'll attempt to break her spirit, too?

His voice was loud as he declared her punishment. "You have to erase your past crimes from this village by spilling your blood." I could tell that he was enjoying this.

"What do you mean?!" Naruto yelled out. "Nara is the kindest and gentlest person I know!"

"Naruto." Nara said quietly. "This is their way of the village. Guilty or not, I have a monster inside of me."

"But you are going to be punished for something you couldn't stop! You didn't have a say of whether that monster be put inside you or not. Why should you be punished for it?"

"You don't have to do this." I said with concern. "They are the ones who did you wrong. Why do you have to be hurt just so they can feel better about themselves?"

"If you don't face your punishment, Konoha will suffer." Her father said. She knew Konoha could hold its own against this village; however, blood would still be spilled. Resulting in a pointless battle.

"I will face it." She said.

I watched as a man roughly grabbed her left arm and pulled her towards a fence. Two other men surrounded her and pulled off her shirt and chainmail. All that was left was her tank top underneath.

"It'll be just like old times, Nara." Said one of the men with a smirk.

"No, it won't." She replied.

They pulled her behind the chain-link fence and tied her wrists to two posts. She made no effort to pull against the bonds. She merely stood there and waited for what would happen.

A man stepped into the area holding a whip. "There's no way of escaping. Those wires are as strong as steel." He laughed loudly.

I watched as he brought the first strike down upon Nara's back. My words were choked within my throat. My heart throbbed terribly as I watched another lash against her back. My hands were trembling uncontrollably.

"Kakashi, this is isn't right!" Naruto yelled from behind me.

A tear fell from my left eye. "I know Naruto." I lowered my head, but I could still hear the sound of the whip making contact with her skin. "But this is her choice."

I watched as her face contorted under the pain of the constant whip. She didn't scream, though. She merely gritted her teeth. This enraged me. Why does Nara have to go through all this? Her village betrayed her. Her father sold her away. Men beat her to the point of death. They hit her hard enough to steal her sight. They threw out in the forest to die. And now, they say she's the monster? Nara never held a grudge against this village. She remembered everything, and she chose to forgive and forget. But now, she's the one tied to a post still enduring pain. All the pain of her body yelling at her. All the hate from the men stripping her skin.

How many lashes has it been? Each one echoed within my mind. I wanted to help her. If I didn't do something, what was the point of cutting covenant all those years ago?

.:Nara:.

The whip lashed against my striped back. My tank top was left in shreds from how many lashes were unleashed on me.

After all these years, my father still resented me. He still wished that I were dead. My childhood dream was for him to love me. For him to smile at me… _I'll just never be good enough_, I closed my eyelids, _will I_? I wasn't then, nor am I now.

Then, I felt a spark of energy. It wasn't from me, but behind me. It was in the cabin, the cabin where I was beaten as a little girl. This energy I felt was from a life from that possessed chakra.

My blind eyes flung open.

I exerted chakra into my hands and easily cut the wire that was supposedly unbreakable. I pivoted on my left foot and caught the whip in my hand. In the midst of the pivoting, I changed my eyes to the dragon eyes. This enabled me vision.

I looked into the eyes of the person that committed in punishing me. His expression showed fear.

My voice was icy, "Who's in the cabin?"

He backed away a step, but didn't release the whip. A voice entered my ears, "You went against the trial rules!" It was my father. I gripped the lash tighter and pulled it away from the man before me. He stumbled away from me as I walked toward the cabin. I discarded the whip and slowly opened the door.

I switched my eyes back to their normal form. This chakra presence seemed to be young, and I didn't want to scare the poor child. In the corner, I heard her whimper quietly.

I walked silently over to her and dropped to my knees. My voice was soft-spoken, "Hey there."

I felt her presence look up to me, but I heard the fear in her voice. "What… are you going to do to me?"

I offered a simple smile. "I'm going to get you out of here unscathed little one."

"Unscathed?" She asked with confusion.

"You're not going to be harmed anymore from those men, alright." I felt her nod her head. "Will you trust me?" I asked as I extended my hand to her.

She crawled toward me and I picked her up. She was skin and bones from malnutrition. I used my left hand to hold her up as my right hand helped her with balance. She rested her head on my upper chest.

I began walking out of the cabin. I heard gasps from the crowd from the sight of the little girl. I felt a man racing toward me to my right. I quickly pulled out a kunai from my pocket and threw it at him. I only kill when it deemed necessary, but I was ticked off.

His body fell lifeless to the ground from the kunai in his throat.

I began walking forward again. None of the other men attempted to attack me.

I heard a woman cry, "Mai! That's my little Mai!" I could hear the hurting in her voice.

The little girl perked up and looked toward the voice. "Mommy?"

I strolled over to the voice. I was unsure at first, because what if her family gave her up like mine did to me, but I quickly discarded that thought. This woman was crying and incredibly happy to see her little girl.

I handed over Mai. "Oh my… how can we ever thank you?"

"There's no need." I replied. My heart ached from the feeling of being around this woman with her child. I have never known an unconditional love like this, not even from my mother, but I was ecstatic that this little girl had someone around that loved her so much.

I walked passed the two and stepped closer to my team. I was exhuasted. Physically, my body was beaten and hurting. Emotionally, my heart throbbed and I wanted to pull it out of my chest. I was so close to forgetting all the pain and hate that came with my memories.

My father blocked my path. "You're not done."

"Yes, I am. I went through with the punishment, and now, I'm going home." I passed him.

He gripped my shoulder forcefully. "You're a monster. Monsters don't have homes."

In so many years, this was my first time hearing my brother speak up for me.

"This is wrong and you know it, father."

"She's a monster!"

"Monsters don't forgive and attempt to forget the past."

"Akio…" My father began.

"You always showed me love as a child. But her, she was just unwanted trash to you."

"She is trash. She has the dragon monster inside of her! She must be killed before anyone of us dies by her hands."

I stepped closer to the men. I picked around in my pocket. "Remember the night you sold me away?"

He didn't reply.

"And they gave you a certain amount of money for me. You might not have ever noticed, but they stole the money back one night.

All the townspeople listened intently to me. "They never knew it, but I stole the money from them. I was upset. I wanted to know why I meant so little to you…" That meant nothing to me anymore. "I counted the money, and kept it with me to this day. I've never used it. I've never reopened it ever since I counted it."

I pulled out the sack, loosened the strings and allowed the money to fall to the ground. "Enough money to buy three meals a day for a week."

"Maybe if I give you the money back, you can forget my existence." I looked over to Kakashi and the others. "This mission is over and we have no reason to stay."

I turned, jumped to the tree branches, and headed back to Konoha.

I formed my hands together and focused my chakra to my back. The wounds began to heal.

"Nara, please stop." It was Kakashi. In all my years knowing him, this is the fourth time he has said 'please' to me. It meant a serious talk.

I balanced on a branch and waited for him to land next to me. He landed gently. "Are you alright?" He asked.

I didn't smile or even look in his direction. "I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Tell me how you feel."

"I don't know how I feel."

"Please… Nara, you can trust me."

_I already know that_!

Tears streamed down my face. "My heart aches, but I smile on the outside. My mind yells at me my memories and how painful they are. My heart remembers the abandonment I felt, the worthlessness inside of me… Being beaten in that cabin wondering if I would ever breathe fresh air again. Left with my thoughts of why I was traded away…"

Kakashi stepped closer and I felt the rest of the team close enough to hear. I wanted to stop and just return home without anyone asking questions. "I tried to forget everything and forgive my father. I wanted to forget and live a life of joy. I smiled to everyone in Konoha. Many people walked up and said that I made their day by a single smile, but… I would go home and be haunted by my memories."

"You did forgive them. No one can fake something like that for that long. It was real."

"But I couldn't forget." I replied.

"Nara!" It was Naruto. "How can you say all those things? Anyone else would want revenge and death to those people. You got past all that junk and became a ninja who protects. You are the nicest and gentlest person I know."

"No. I'm not. I'm just like you. A monster rests within me. No matter how gentle and fragile I seem on the outside, the Dragon could be released."

"But you know how to control it." Kakashi replied.

"Control it?" I laughed. "This is one of a Bijuu. No one can control their power."

"There's a first for everything."

The dragon said, "_Control me? I agree with Nara that it isn't possible."_

Naruto spoke. "You have no place to speak! Because of you, Nara has been put into those situations in her home village."

The Dragon growled lightly. "_I wasn't done, boy. I made a deal with the father of ninjas that I wanted to be sealed within human vessels. He questioned me. I replied that I wanted to understand the humans. I've been in many vessels, but I haven't been in one this long before."_

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"_I have been sealed within thirty-six different people before you. Each one became obsessed with the power that was within them. They used it against their people to gain power and recognition. The last age that I was in was a twenty-one year old man."_

"I'm only twenty-three."

"_They always asked me for power. Asking for more and more until it consumed their very being. I have seen Nara go through trials worse than the others, and she hasn't released me yet."_

"What happened to the other thirty-six vessels?" Kakashi questioned.

"_My seal was broken and they lived their lives without any help from me. Most of them became depressed and mediocre. Nara is the only one who has built her own power without my help." _He paused_. "And I respect her for that."_


	11. Akatsuki

**| "I see humans, but no humanity." | Unknown**

Sakura, Kakashi, Yamato, Sai and Naruto were already gathered when Kota and I arrived. Naruto was laid back and carefree like usual. Sakura was getting on to Naruto for not being more alert. Sai merely observed the conversation between the two. Yamato looked from Kakashi to me with a smile. I think that out of all the people I know, Yamato and Gai want Kakashi and I together more than any other.

I offered a polite smile. "Sorry for being late."

Naruto stared at me. "You were even later than Kakashi. Well, he was actually on time today, but still. He beat you here."

"Yeah. Apologies, Kakashi-san."

"You're a leader on this team as well. Don't worry about it." He simply replied.

"What's our mission?" Naruto asked.

I remembered the briefing that Yamato, Kakashi, and I had yesterday with Tsunade. She informed us about Akatsuki and their whereabouts. We are to gather as much information as we can about their plans.

Kakashi replied. "We are going to do some information gathering."

"About what?" Sakura joined in.

"Akatsuki."

"You know, Nara," Naurto began and lowered himself to Kota's level, "does this dog of yours actually do anything?"

"You got something to say, boy?!" Kota replied.

"For one, he's a wolf. Two, he can actually do a lot. He's helped quite a bit on missions when you were goofing off, Naruto."

"I was just wondering. I've never seen him do any techniques like Akamaru."

"Not all animals can use chakra like that clan's dogs. They are bred that way. Kota is from the wild, and has no skills in that area."

Kakashi looked out into the forest. "Are we ready?"

We all spoke in unison. "Yeah."

"Let's go." He took off down the road. We all followed suit and burst into the trees.

"What's the first city again?" I asked.

"Hidden Village of Sand."

That's a two days run. I looked back to Sakura. "You remember the way to increase a companion's speed?"

"I remember, but I haven't been able to control it properly."

"Why's that?" I asked, but I already knew the answer.

"I'm not like you with detecting my surroundings that don't have chakra."

I smiled. "You don't have to be like me, Sakura. Be yourself. You'll find your own way soon. Until then, I will increase our speed."

I inhaled deeply and exhaled. I moved my chakra to my feet. I could feel faster. I exerted my own chakra into my companion's feet. We had already tripled our speed.

I heard Naruto over the rush of wind. "How are you able to do this?"

Luckily Sakura answered for me. "It's multiple chakra control. From what I've read about it, only a few ninjas in history have been able to do something like this."

"What do you mean?"

"She's using her own chakra to increase our speed. In other words, she's exerting her chakra into our feet."

"Wow. How difficult is it?"

"Like I said, not many shinobi have been able to master this. The hardest part is applying it in real time. Practicing isn't all that bad, but when you are surrounded by trees, it becomes more difficult."

"Why is it harder in a forest?"

"The chakra control requires the highest level of concentration. One mess up and the exertion stops. Not just that, but you have to detect oncoming trees, so that you don't hit them."

"Why can't you just see them at that speed?"

"With the highest level of concentration, most people close their eyes to improve their chakra control with something like that. I can't because I can't sense the trees with a simple feeling."

"What about Nara? She's doing just fine."

"Nara has keener senses than I. She can sense something with barely any chakra."

"Oh. I see. Don't worry, Sakura. You'll get it."

I heard Sakura mumble under her breath. "I doubt that I ever will understand it."

Naruto heard it as well. "Sakura, Nara told you that you'll get it, so that means you will."

We traveled for a few hours, and I could feel my chakra level depleting. Kakashi looked back and signaled for us to stop. I stopped my chakra flow and we all landed.

"We will rest here for a while. We're almost there anyway."

"Are you sure?" I asked with short breaths.

"Yeah. You're below half your chakra level, aren't you?"

"I'm around forty percent."

"Forty percent?!" Naruto yelled out. "Just how much chakra do you have?!"

I jumped to the forest floor and took a drink of water. I sat down with my back to the tree trunk.

"Do we need to make anything for food?" Sai asked.

"Let's just collect some fruits." Sai nodded his head and the others split off to search for food. Kakashi jumped down to where I sat and merely stood before me.

"What? You're not tired?" I asked with a smirk.

"You're the one who put forth most of the effort." He replied.

"It's a long journey, so I thought a little speed boost wouldn't be a bad idea."

"It wasn't. We are almost going to be two full days ahead of schedule."

"Anything I can do to help." I smiled up to him.

He didn't say anything for a few moments. "Nara, you do know that you have helped us out a lot over the years?"

I looked back to the ground. "Yeah. I guess so."

"You have saved our lives, and the lives of many others. I just wanted to say thank you from all of us, and I never want you to forget how important you are to all of us. Especially me, Nara."

I could feel my cheeks burn slightly. "Kakashi, there's no need to thank me. I am doing my job as a shinobi and that is to protect."

"No, you're not. You're not protecting people because it's your duty or you feel you have to. You protect people because you want to. You want to help end pain and suffering simply because you want to. I just want you know that we are very thankful of you."

"Thank you, Kakashi. It means the world to me."

He pulled his hand out of his glove. I changed my eyes to see what he was doing. In front of my face was his hand with the scar on it.

He gently spoke. "I know it does."

.: :.

After a light rest, I stood up from the ground. I stretched and jumped into the trees. Everyone was ready and we took off. Kakashi told me to not worry about increasing our speed since we're doing so great on time.

Instead, I searched out our surrounding area. We were going after Akatsuki and I knew they wanted the Kyuubi. It's best to be wary and not let our guard down.

We had been traveling for about an hour when I sensed something. It was human and I could tell he or she was trying to suppress their chakra. I stopped and Kakashi looked back to know the reason why I had stopped.

He jumped over to my side. "What is it?"

"A man. No, there are two." I paused. "I can tell they're trying to suppress their chakra to not give away their presence."

"Which way?" He asked.

I pointed to the west. "That way. About five kilometers."

"Five kilometers?!" Naruto yelled out.

"I want to know who they are." Kakashi said.

"It could be Akatsuki." I replied.

Yamato entered. "Yeah. So everyone be on your guard."

Kakashi leapt in the direction I pointed, and we all followed. As we came closer, something felt odd about their surroundings. I sped up to Kakashi.

He glanced over to me. "Something wrong?"

"The trees surrounding the two men are strange. They are trees, but I think they have implanted some sort of jutsu."

"Okay. I'm going to send you in first. You have the least detectable chakra. I want you to figure out who they are. We will be on standby."

"Yes, sir." I leapt forward from the tree in a different direction. They will come from the west; I will approach from the north.

I landed on a branch near the two. At this distance, I can sense more clearly what they are doing, but remain unseen. I changed my eyes to see if they were Akatsuki. When I looked around the tree, I saw the black cloaks with red clouds.

I may have stayed in that position for about ten minutes. Team Kakashi had already arrived. I wanted to yell across the area that their chakra was too detectable to be this close, but it was too late. The Akatsuki had already made their move on the team. I remained in my position. If the perfect time arises, I will strike.

That's when one of the two jumped to my tree and brought down a huge sword. He sensed me?

I jumped backwards into the clearing and faced him with my bladed tonfas drawn. "To think we found you this easily." He smiled.

I gritted my teeth. Had he really sensed me?

The other member laughed behind me. "I told you that she would hide in the shadows and strike at the perfect time."

"No wonder." Said the man with the giant sword. "I didn't detect her at all. Good thing you told me to go around and look for her."

"Then how come I didn't sense you approach me?" I asked.

"Once you entered these trees, I became hidden to you. After knowing how keen your senses are, I made you see what I wanted you to."

How does he know so much about me, and how did he fool me with such a petty trick?

The man behind me attacked first, and I dodged it easily.

.: :.

"You know what else these trees are good for?" I looked up to him as he patted the tree. The other member was behind me breathing heavily. I truly believed that our team could defeat these two.

That's what I thought until he performed his jutsu. I gasped. In the blink of an eye, all the members of Akatsuki appeared around us. I gripped my tonfas with frustration. Why are they all here? Are they all planning on attacking Naruto to obtain the Kyuubi? But they didn't do that with the others…

That's when they all rushed towards me. In a panic, I made the crystal and captured three of them. The others continued running to me. I performed the seals quickly. The dragon armor.

One member attacked first using a fire based jutsu. In order to dissipate the fire, I dropped my tonfas and performed a water wall.

Kisame attacked me with his huge sword from behind. I could only block it with my arm. I pushed it off, and I paused. I was stunned at what I saw. Where the sword attacked destroyed my armor. I've never seen anything attack my armor like this.

He laughed. "You have amazing chakra control. My sword eats chakra when it comes in contact. So, in theory, you shouldn't have any of your own chakra," He paused just when another member attacked. I countered the attack with my wind chakra. Kisame continued, "But, that's a handy armor you've got."

I gritted my teeth again. I looked over to the others of Team Kakashi. Oda and the other man earlier weren't letting them interfere.

I flexed my arm and covered it with the armor again. I performed the seals and created the crystals. The members scattered.

"You created this crystal?" Asked one of the members before he attacked me. "Very impressive. I can't wait to have you part of our team." He added with a smile.

I sliced my right tonfa up and he flipped backwards. There were too many of them for me to concentrate on. And this area was affecting my detecting. From the tree jutsu, I was developing a migraine. For this whole battle, I would have to depend on the dragon's eyes.

I saw Itachi among them. His eyes looked sad, but he was the next one to attack. I sidestepped back, but that's when Tobi attacked me form the air.

My body fell to the ground with a loud thud. I attempted to stand to my feet, but to no avail. My body was tattered and torn. Strips of flesh hung loose from my body. I changed my hands into fists. I began to stand again.

With the last of my energy, I caused the crystals from earlier to burst into even more. One of the Akatsuki members was stabbed through the heart. _At least I got one of them_, I thought.

One of the members grabbed my hair and yanked me from the ground. My body yelled against me from the suddenness. He laughed. "What amazing chakra! Even when you had no chance of winning, you still managed to kill one of us, Nara. Very impressive."

I coughed up blood. "Why are all your members out here?"

"For you, of course." He sat me down on the ground, and in one fluid motion, he broke both of my legs. The new pain coursed through my body. It joined with the previous agony. All of it combined, I could feel my body slowly slipping into unconsciousness.

"Now she can't go anywhere. And she'll pass out from all that pain. Who will carry her?"

Itachi stepped forth. "I will."

"Here." The member tossed me to the ground. Itachi picked me up and pulled me close to him. It was as if he felt sorry for me.

He faced Kakashi. All the members had disappeared. Only Itachi remained. I glanced over as much as I could see and saw the members of my team. They all looked exhausted and to their limit.

Itachi spoke. "Follow us, Kakashi-san, and find out the truth." With that Itachi and I vanished.

.:Kakashi:.

Naruto distracted the enemy long enough for Kota to strike his throat. The black wolf held on to his throat and dug his teeth in deeper. Blood coursed over his teeth, and he snapped the neck. He killed him. The last one of that person. I looked over to Nara and saw the two iron nails disappear from her hands. Her body fell limply to the ground. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes.

I saw an Akatsuki member walk towards her and I flashed in between him and her. I stared at him with my Sharingan waiting for him to make a move. He simply smirked.

"This team is quite amazing, if I may say, Hatake Kakashi." Tobi said.

I gripped my kunai tighter as Sakura and Naruto stood around Nara in a defensive position.

"You actually killed one of us." He said lightly. "That's a big thing, but he was our weakest link. His jutsu was very interesting, but it's nothing now." He looked over to the two dead bodies that belonged to Oda.

The leader continued. "I'll let you live. And for her," He glanced at Nara, "keep her alive for us. She's no use to us dead."

"Why you-!" I heard Naruto's fury rising in his voice.

"What do you need her for?" I asked. I had to know why they needed Nara. There were the main nine tailed demons out there, but the dragon isn't part of them.

He grinned. "The fun is in the mystery." Then he vanished. One after another, all Akutsuki members vanished. I exhaled my long held breath.

"How is she?" I asked.

"It's bad, but she's still breathing. It's very faint…" I felt my heart drop into oblivion.

"Can she make it to Konoha?"

"If I apply quick first aid to her injuries, then yes. We have to move fast, though." She began working on Nara's injuries.

I looked to the ground. "Why do they want her? And why use all members to capture her?"

"Maybe it has something to do with her chakra control. That's what is so well known about her." Naruto said.

Maybe. Are they going to use Nara to control all the Bijuus at once? I looked over to the woman lying on the ground. My heart throbbed. I was useless in protecting her. I gripped my fists.

Naruto placed his hand on my shoulder. "She'll be fine, Kakashi-sensei. There's no need to beat your self up over it. That's not what she would want."

"You're right, Naruto. Thanks."

"That's all I can do for now." Sakura rose from the ground. "Let's go."

"Right." Naruto stated.

I slid my arms underneath her body. I picked her up gently and held her close. "Sakura, use the techniques Nara taught you to increase our speed."

"I haven't gotten that skill correctly."

"Believe in yourself, Sakura. Nara taught you for situations like this."

I watched as Naruto gripped Sakura's hand lightly. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan. I'll be your eyes." She looked to Naruto and closed her eyes. She began to focus her energy into our feet.

With that, I leapt into the trees and bounded for Konoha. Naruto guided Sakura swiftly behind me.


	12. What Lies in the Books

**| "She was beautiful, but not like those girls in magazines […] she was beautiful, for her ability to make people smile. No, she wasn't beautiful for something as temporary as her looks. She was beautiful, deep down to her soul." |**

"How is she?" I asked when Tsunade came out of the room.

She looked to me with sad eyes. "She just needs time to recover."

"What's with your grim expression?"

"How many members of Akutsuki attacked your team?"

I looked down. "All of them."

"It still amazes me, you know." She said.

"Huh?"

"When she was sixteen, I had my first impression of her. I saw that she was blind and even though she was stated as a jounin, I always thought she would be a nuisance." She paused and smiled. "How ignorant I was back then. Once I saw what she was capable of on the battlefield, Jiriaya and I both laid down our titles of Sannin and gave it to her. She declined both of us."

"I remember that. Even though you still could have beaten her at the age of sixteen, you saw the potential in her and determination."

"Right. Even now, she amazes me. It took the gathering of all members with their target being one blind woman."

"How is she mentally?" I asked.

"We're not sure. She's the kind of person that blocked our chakra when she was eight. If she doesn't want us interfering in her mind, she will block us out. It's pointless to even try. She's the kind of person to block out the world from her deepest thoughts."

The image of her being nailed to that post flashed in my mind. Her hands raised above her head with blood flowing down her arm span. Her gorgeous, white hair stained with her own blood. Her face vacant of a smile.

"When can I see her?" Kota was lying down beside me. He had no energy to look up.

She looked into my eyes. I must have looked like a sad puppy. She stared into them searching for answers. She sighed lightly. "I will allow that only you be permitted to see her when she is taken back to the room."

"What about everyone else?"

"You are the closet person to her. She needs you right now, Kakashi. Everyone else surrounding her after that trauma wouldn't be good for a person like her."

"When will she be taken to the room?"

She smiled to me. "I have never seen you this impatient before." She glanced at the emergency door. "Probably about an hour and a half."

"Okay. Good." I offered a light smile. My heart was aching, though. I wanted to be the man by her side. I wanted to hold her hand and repeat the words 'everything will be alright'.

.: :.

I sat on the floor in the room. Kota had taken a spot on the bed right next to Nara. He lied there quietly and with no movement. I placed a hand on his fury head. Naruto and Sakura had returned and Nara had woken up earlier.

For the past two days, she had been in here regaining her strength. Ever since she woke up, she's been smiling and laughing to everyone.

I watched as Naruto acted like a fool to help ease Nara's pain. Sai even painted her some pictures. Yamato had made her carvings from his wood jutsu. Sakura had brought Nara's favorite flower each day. The flower isn't the prettiest compared to others, but its fragrance captivates the nose. That is why it is Nara's favorite.

Even Shikamaru, Shino, Neji, and Hinata had visited randomly during the day. All the other members of teams have said thankful things to her also.

Tsunade and Gai entered.

Tsunade looked to Nara with concern in her eyes. "Alright everyone let Nara rest for a while."

"I'm fine. Really." She said with a sad smile.

"I am telling you to rest. I know you have great healing capabilities, but what they did to you takes time to fully recover."

Nara shrugged in return. I glanced at her. How can she shove that situation off as nothing?

I rose from my seat on the floor and followed everyone out. I was the first one in the room this morning, and I'm the last one out.

Gai placed a hand on my shoulder. "We need to talk." He said.

I nodded and he led me down the hallway. "How are you taking it?" He asked when we were out of earshot.

I offered a smile to reassure my words. "Tsunade said everything would be fine. I'm doing fine."

He gazed at me with a sad expression. "You can smile, but you can't pretend it's not killing you, old friend."

I looked away towards the floor. I could feel emotions rumbling in my chest to the point that it hurt. I could feel the tears filling my eyes, but I refused to cry.

"She cares a lot about you, Kakashi. And I know you care a lot about her."

I stayed silent.

"When she left the village, I saw something within you leave with her. You weren't the same after that. Then, when she returned, it was like a new you came about. Of course you were the same, but your feelings came back. You remembered what it felt like to live again."

"It doesn't matter any more…"

"What do you mean?"

"I failed her… I promised that I would always be there." A tear fell. I pulled off my glove and looked at the scar on my hand. "And then… and then… she was taken right away from me. What kind of friend was I to her then?"

"But didn't you do everything within your power to bring her back?"

My eyes jerked to his. He had a smile on his face as he continued. "I don't know everything about her past, but I know that she was abandoned and left to die. Kakashi, don't you realize what you have done?"

"What have I done?" I asked.

"You've given her someone to believe in. Someone to trust. For Nara, it's hard to come by someone like you. You're one of a kind, you know. She told you of her past. That was a huge step for her. Even now, she can still trust that you will be there for her." He gave me a thumb up coupled with a sparkling smile.

My eyes fell back to my hand. I remembered when she told me about making a covenant. I was privileged when she asked if I wanted to commit to a covenant with her.

"You have the mark to prove it." Gai said with a smile. With that, he walked away.

.: :.

I walked down the hallway of the hospital to a room that became familiar. I have spent so much of my time by Nara's side in that room of hers. Tsunade made her stay in bed for a week, so she wasn't allowed her to leave the hospital. Even though Nara has been living in Konoha for three years, she hasn't bought a house or apartment.

I approached her several times about it, but she declined me each time. I was merely offering her a place to sleep, but she would reply about how much she loved sleeping under the stars and listening to wildlife.

Knowing all that, Tsunade made sure Nara had a comfortable place to sleep and recover.

I passed Naruto and Sakura on my way. "She awake yet?"

"No. Not yet." Naruto said. Behind Naruto, I saw Sai with a smile.

"What do you have?" Sakura asked.

"She loves fruit, so I went out and picked some."

"You hand picked them yourself?"

"Yeah. I know some people around Konoha and in close villages who offer their fruit trees to me when I pass through."

"I bet she'll like that." Sai entered the conversation. "Fruit is mainly all she eats since she doesn't like meat."

"Yeah. Fruit and bread. And that's why I have this, too." I pulled out one of the rolls hidden under the fruit.

Sakura eyed me suspiciously. Naruto looked at the roll hungrily, and Sai observed Naruto's reaction to the food.

I knew Sakura had me all figured out when she showed a sly smile. "Hey, Naruto, Sai, let's go get a bite to eat real quick. I'm starving."

"Let's eat ramen!" Naruto yelled out.

"Don't you eat anything else besides ramen?" Sai asked.

"I add pork to the ramen. Does that count?"

Sakura and Sai shrugged and gave in to Naruto's craving. I smiled at my team. They had grown so much since I first met them. Even Sai has been accepted in to the team. And since Naruto has the kyuubi in him, Nara has to join our missions. They have all accepted her quickly as well. In turn, they worry about her. They trust her, but she doesn't have the courage to trust in return.

I continued walking down the hall towards the room. I wished that Asuma were still here. Even if Yamato wasn't on a mission right now, I would tell him about my feelings for Nara. I needed someone to talk to about this. I was thinking about making a huge step in this direction and I didn't want to mess it up.

I saw Nara's room number, and I saw Tsunade standing outside the room. She sat on the bench with her head in her hands. I stopped beside her.

"Everything alright?" I asked.

She looked up with tired eyes. "Huh? Oh, yeah." She sighed heavily. "Just haven't slept well."

"Why is that? The Hokage needs to be completely given to a situation in case something rises up, so that means you need plenty of sleep."

"Yeah. I guess." She said with a weak smile. "It's just… I wish I could do more for Nara. She's been so restless and unable to actually sleep well."

"She's suffered with that for a long time."

"Maybe you should go in and try to help her sleep? You know, maybe you just being there will calm her."

I glanced into Tsunade's eyes. "I could try."

"You're her closest friend. You may not know it, but she admires you."

"How would you know that?" I asked. Nara is someone who wouldn't openly express her feelings.

"Well, when her feelings are about you, her closest friend, it's hard for her to confront you about them. I asked her randomly throughout the time that she was stationed in my office. She wouldn't say much at once. A few sentences or so. But hey, I'm not complaining."

"And… how does she feel about me?"

She smiled. "I already told you that she admires you, Kakashi."

I looked away. "Anything else?"

"She loves it when you bring her fruit." Tsunade rose from the bench and started walking down the hallway. "You're the only one allowed to go in there right now."

I walked towards the door and opened it. Nara was sitting up in the bed. She jumped slightly when I opened the door. Her chakra sensory skills must be not working well.

"It's me." I said with a light tone. I saw her face light up with a smile.

"Kakashi, how are you?"

"How am I? I should be asking you that."

She shrugged. "I'm fine. Just need to heal up a little more." She changed her eyes to the dragon's eyes to enable her to see. Her eyes landed on the basket. All excitement returned to her, "What's that?!"

"I brought you some fruit." I said with a smile.

"Hand picked?" She asked excitedly.

"Yeah. Of course."

"You know me so well, Kakashi." She reached out her hand to grab a piece of fruit. She grabbed a slice of a pineapple I chopped earlier. She ate it slowly and savored every bite.

"It's so fresh. Thank you so much." She glanced at the basket again and saw a roll. "And rolls, too! Wow, this is amazing."

I examined her eyes and noticed that they were red.

"You haven't been sleeping well?"

She lowered her eyes. "No. I haven't." I sat the basket on the counter near her. I sat down on the bed with my left side pointed towards her.

"Are they the same?" I was referring to her nightmares.

"Yeah." She closed her eyes. "I can see my father every time. I could see the very face he had when he handed me over to those men. Even now, he gave me over to Akatsuki with that same face."

"You don't have to worry about him now."

"I guess… but he gave all the information on file to Akatsuki. I know there wasn't too much, but now they know more about me. Naruto has the Kyuubi inside him, while I have the dragon. How long until they attack Konoha to reach their goal?" She asked with worry in her eyes.

"Not even they would assault Konoha like that. That would be stupid and idiotic. They are neither of those."

I glanced over to her and found her staring at me. "Something wrong?"

"Just because we made a covenant, doesn't mean you have to put your life on the line to save me, Kakashi…"

"But I didn't die. And neither did you."

"Please… just know that you don't have to put your life on the line for me."

"This mark," I raised my hand, "means that I will always be there for you. If I can protect you, I will."

"But, I'm not worth it."

"What do you mean by that?"

"My father gave me up twice. People decided that I wouldn't be worth anything in the shinobi world. My first sensei rejected me, and now, I am part of Akutsuki's plans. I mean nothing to them if I am dead, so maybe…"

"Don't say that!" I yelled out without meaning to. When my mind caught up to my words, tears were already falling down my cheek. "Konoha cares about you. I care about you…"

"Kakashi… there are other women out there that would be better for you. Women that you don't have to worry about dying."

"I disagree." I stood from the bed. I couldn't look her in the eyes as my heart spewed forth. "When you first left Konoha, I understood back then why. I knew that you wanted to train yourself without getting in anyone's way and such. Do you know how long it took me to get to sleep after you left? I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. Yamato and Gai worried about my health. I was almost worthless on missions."

I stood in front of the wall away from her bed. "I ripped out the pages of my favorite book and placed pictures of you. I put details about you in there. Things like what your favorite flower was and why, your dreams, and your failures along with how you responded. I wrote about your past. I wrote about you and Kota. I didn't want to forget a single thing about you… I know it sounds pathetic, but it helped me through the years.

I breathed in. "I didn't want people to know how hurt I was, so I didn't tell anyone about the book. The simply thought I was reading Jiraiya's books, when I was reading about you… Yamato and Gai tried to help me move on, but I couldn't. I never wanted to. I knew that you would live and become a great shinobi, even if no one else thought so. I knew you would return one day. I'm so happy that when you returned, you didn't run away again." My heart ached.

Her voice was soft. "I never meant to cause you pain."

"It's okay." I simply answered.

"I was just afraid that you… would abandon me like everyone else. So, when the Third offered me that mission, I decided to take it."

I faced her. Her face was lowered. I walked over to her and held her in an embrace. She clung to me as moments passed.

"Please… just don't leave again." I whispered.

"I couldn't." She looked up and smiled. "I guess we were both pretty pathetic. We were both miserable without each other."

We stayed in our hug position for what felt like only a few minutes, but when I looked at the clock, thirty minutes had passed. I glanced down to the beautiful woman in my arms. She had been so exhausted that she fell asleep. I smiled from the thought. It would seem that she could only sleep peacefully when I'm around.

Kota walked across the bed to where we were. I laid her carefully on the bed. He had a huge grin on his face.

"What?" I asked.

"It's about time you two got together." He stated plainly.

I smiled behind my mask at the thought, but nothing was official yet. "It's not like we are officially together, you know."

"You two spilled forth your feelings about one another. If you two don't get together after that, I'm going to bite off your nose." He said with a straight face.

"What with you and biting people's noses?"

"Let's see you live a happy life without a sense of smell."


	13. Jenjutsu

**| "The most painful goodbyes are the ones that are never said and never explained." |**

It was almost noon and Konoha looked so peaceful. Little kids ran around playing. Women hung out with each other to catch up on life. Men sat around talking to each other.

I smiled as I walked down the street. This is what we live to protect. Come to think of it, I wonder what Nara is up to?

I know that once she heard the news about Jiriaya-sama, she distanced herself from me a little. I understand, though. She looked up to him as a shinobi, and the news of his death took its toll on her. Even though she won't openly show it, I know it's bothering her.

It's not like I can blame her, though. He was the first shinobi that took her under his wing and actually cared for her success.

Also after hearing about Pain, she told Tsunade that she would watch over the village.

I jumped up the building to find Nara sitting with her legs crossed. Her hands were together and she didn't move when she felt me near.

"You do know you can take a break." I said.

"We don't know when Pain will come." She said in a low voice.

"Maybe after you have a little something to eat, you'll be able to concentrate better. It's been two straight days of you just sitting up here, you know."

She sighed and stood up. "I guess you're right." She turned around to face me, but her hood hid her eyes from me. I wonder if she had been crying.

"Are you hungry?" I asked.

She smiled. "Just because we are together, Kakashi, doesn't mean you have to watch over me all the time."

I took a step closer and removed the hood from her head. Her eyes were red from crying and going without sleep. "I have given you two days to cope with what happened. Now, I'm stepping in and telling you to move on."

"Yeah. You're right." She yawned and stretched her arms. "So, where are you taking me to eat?"

"I never said that I'd pay."

"Oh, but you will." She added with a grin.

We walked down the street and to her favorite place to eat. "Will this be okay?" I asked.

"Of course it will." She replied.

We sat down and ordered. I wasn't particularly hungry, but this gave us a chance to spend some time together.

"How do you think Naruto's training is going?" she asked.

"He is a great student. You just have to know how to explain it to him. He's not the brightest ninja, but definitely is one of the most dedicated ones I've ever seen."

"I thought so. Jenjutsu isn't for just anybody, but I'm sure he can do it." She said as the waitress brought our food. Of course, Nara got the veggie dish with sides of fruit.

"You couldn't do it?" I asked.

"I understood the concept of the technique, but I was never able to reach Sage Mode."

"What do you mean?" I asked as she took a small bite of a piece of fruit.

"I could mold the chakra from natural energy, but when I did, _he_ would come out."

"The dragon?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "He is the creature one with nature, so calling on that natural energy surfaces him. The more energy collected, the less the seal can hold him back."

"And you think Naruto will be different?"

"The Kyuubi is of destruction and chaos. When I think about it, I think it would give him more control over the Kyuubi."

"You really think so?" I asked.

"It's just a theory. All in all, him learning jenjutsu won't break the seal."

"So, when the dragon came out, wouldn't you also have control over him?"

She smiled. "One would think, but actually it sent my chakra out of balance, so it was difficult to suppress him."


	14. Pain

**| "Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was a tragedy." | Unknown**

**| "I'm fine, just a bit of a mess." | Unknown**

* * *

Another summoning appeared. I committed in my crystal jutsu and stabbed multiple crystals into its body. I breathed heavily from the exhaustion. That was the thirteenth summoning that I destroyed.

Every time I get close to the Pain that uses summonings, he merely summons more and pushes me back. I focused around Konoha. There were several pains in the village, but the best one for me to attack right now is this Pain. I could sense Kakashi fighting two of them.

I gritted my teeth. I should leave this Pain to the ANBU and I should help Kakashi. The beast blew fire at me. I performed basic earth seals and created a giant earth wall. I didn't care about protecting myself, but I cared about the people. I will protect these people with everything within me.

The fire stopped. I jumped over the earth wall and unsheathed the dragon sword on my back. I centered my chakra and inserted it into the sword. I manipulated the nature of the chakra into wind chakra and swiped my sword toward the creature. The beast cried out in agony and vanished back into its realm.

I landed lightly on a building. The ANBU leapt to my position and stood behind me.

"Great job, Nara." Said one.

"I'm going to leave the summoning Pain to you guys. I'm going to fight another one to help protect the people. With a wide range of strong jounins, it should help in saving more people."

"Well said, Nara-san. Good luck."

I smiled, sheathed my sword, and jumped to the eastern region of the village. I would go help Kakashi. Even though he is strong and brilliant, fighting two at the same time would prove difficult. I sensed Chouji and his father near Kakashi. With those two against those certain styles of Pains, they are only helpful in distractions.

My heart dropped and tears filled my eyes. I couldn't sense Kakashi's presence…

"No…" I whispered under my breath. Chakra enveloped my feet as I launched myself forward. The two Pains left the area, but I couldn't sense Kakashi. This couldn't be.

I landed and switched my eyes to see as the dragon. There he was embedded in the ground, dead. He was dead? This was Kakashi. We've been through so much, and now… now.

"Kakashi-san." I was able to pull him out of the ground. I looked into his closed eyes. My heart was broken. I was able to trust him. He was my closest and best friend. He was mine and I was his. I loved him.

I pulled off my glove and intertwined our right hands together. We were both broken and it was hard for either of us to trust anyone. In the midst of all the chaos, he was told to watch over me and make sure I was emotionally stable. We became friends after that. He wanted to understand me and my pain that I hid within me.

I held both of our hands together. Our scars faced each other. It was the covenant that we committed to all those years ago. I hovered over his body and placed my forehead over his. My eyes were closed shut as a few more tears flowed from them.

"I love you, Kakashi." I whispered. I let go of his hand and stood up. I wiped my arm across my eyes to get rid of the tears. I breathed in, held it, then breathed out.

I felt all the Pains retreating. Why are they retreating? I felt one of them lingering over Konoha. What is he up to?

I could feel him gathering a large amount of chakra into his hands. I exerted chakra into my feet and flashed under him. I could assume where the origin of the attack would commence. I performed the seal and waited for the precise moment.

I heard him yell out his jutsu. I commenced in the crystals. Where the attack was originated, I created a circle around that area. As the jutsu enlarged, my crystals were forced backwards. I added extra crystals in the open areas, so the people would be protected. As his ultimate push ended, I stopped focusing.

I stood on top of one of the crystals and breathed heavily. That took everything left within me, but I knew I still had to find something else to help aid in the fight. I looked around at the devastation. I was able to stop the main blow of the attack, but it almost cut completely through my crystals. That was extremely powerful to break through my crystals.

My body toppled over, and I couldn't stop from falling to the ground. One Pain gripped my arm and threw me forward. Another one caught me in mid air. He tightened his grip on my throat.

His demon eyes stared into mine. "You're strong enough to save some of Konoha." I unsheathed my sword and brought it down towards him. Another Pain stopped my arm. Then a third Pain stabbed a sharp blade like weapon into my seal on my stomach. I coughed up blood from the pain, but I refused to cry out the pain. My left hand automatically attempted to cover the pain on my body.

Instead, a grin appeared on my face. "Something funny?" the one gripping my throat asked.

I saw shock materialize on his face as crystals exited the ground and stabbed into him. I aimed for all the metal rods in his body since that is what is keeping this thing alive. The other Pains jumped far away from me.

My body collapsed to the ground. My stamina had finally run dry.

One Pain picked me up and tossed me to another one near the wall. He pinned me to the wall's surface and another pain pulled out rods from his body. I watched helplessly as I was held against the wall arms apart. He stabbed the rods into the palms of my hands and the calves of my legs.

My chin was lifted by the Pain that stabbed me. "Don't die, Nara. You are a vital aspect to me. You will help bring peace to the world, my dear."

I coughed blood out of my mouth. "This is what you call peace?" My voice was hoarse.

"With your power, you will save the world."

"You will kill families, children, dreams- all in the name of peace?"

"You will help control the Bijuus we have collected."

"You mean the creatures you extracted from people by killing them?"

"It leads to the same conclusion."

That was when a huge puff of smoke appeared. I knew it was a summoning jutsu, but who summoned? The Pain summoner was standing before me, and I didn't sense him summon anything.

As the cloud of smoke dispersed, I saw a giant toad with Naruto on top.

I closed my eyes with a smile. He was in Sage mode. _Congratulations, Naruto. I leave Konoha to you now_.

.: :.

I wrapped excess cloth around the holes in my body. I jumped over to where Hinata was. "Hinata, are you alright?" I asked as I pulled her arm over my shoulders. I had to get her away from the Kyuubi form. I was too weak to help out Naruto at this point. All my strength would go to getting Hinata away from this hole.

I sensed Sakura near the edge. Taking Hinata to her would be the best thing I can do now. I jumped away from our position. Even with my eyes in the dragon form, everything was darkening. I couldn't focus clearly.

I landed near where Sakura was. I collapsed to the ground with Hinata next to me. I couldn't move anymore. Everything hurt. Everything ached.

"Nara-sensei!" I heard Sakura's faint cry. I could feel her hands pull me over to examine how bad I was. "Kygutsae, use your power to heal Nara. I will focus on Hinata."

.: :.

I leaned against the rock. Gai's team arrived. Lee and Ten-ten went to Hinata. Neji looked over to me. "Nara-san…"

Gai reached our location as well. I heard him gasp as he looked at me. "Nara-san!" he pulled me close to him. "What happened?!" He asked.

"It was Pain of the Akatsuki." I faintly replied. The slug filled them in on the details. I forgot that the slug hid in my clothes during my battle with the Pains.

I saw Gai forming tears in his eyes. I smiled. He can get emotional at times. "That is so wonderful how you gave your all to help save Konoha! With all my power, I will protect the woman of my rival!" His teeth sparkled. "And that's a promise."

Kakashi. My heart filled with pain again, but I refused to let the smile vanish from my face. Now wasn't the time to say anything.

I looked up to the sky. There were tons of lights in the air. "What's going on?" Neji asked.

Tears fell down my cheeks as I sensed more people in Konoha. "Pain is… bringing the dead back." I said with a low voice.

The slug nodded. "Yes, Naruto's talk with the true Pain went well. Pain gave the rest of his energy to save the people of Konoha." He informed us everything about what happened. She even talked about what I commenced in the battles. She was telling this to everyone in Konoha?

I felt Neji and Gai surround me and pick me off the ground. I was still too weak to stand on my own. I couldn't even stand with them holding me up.

"Come one, Nara-san. Let's go see your man bring back a hero." I smiled. As he and Neji stepped forward, it proved difficult to carry me like this since I had no energy. Gai looked at me with another smile.

"Is okay with you if I carry you to Kakashi?"

I smiled in return. "I can't get there by myself, and it seems difficult to be helped like this."

He lifted my limp body into his arms and Neji stayed close behind him. I've never seen Neji act like this to anyone else. Does he respect me?

We all greeted Naruto as he was carried here on Kakashi's back. To see Kakashi alive thrilled my heart to no extent. We all clapped for Naruto. He saved us all.

Gai carried me to Kakashi. He looked at me and paused. I could see the hurt in his eyes, but also the happiness that I was alive. Neji still trailed behind Gai and I. Kakashi took me from Gai's arms and into his. I could feel the tenderness and the longing while I was in his arms.

The tears filled my eyes again. "You saw what happened?" He asked.

"I didn't see it, but I sensed the conclusion."

He held me tighter. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

I smiled up to him. "There's no need to be sorry. It's not reality anymore."

He pulled me closer and kissed me on my forehead through his mask. "But this is."


	15. Disobedience

**| "When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another." |**

It was morning. I got up out of the sleeping bag. I still felt exhausted, but compared to yesterday, I could at least move on my own. I looked over and saw the Hokage in another sleeping bag. I removed my covers and attempted to stand. I reached for something to help me stand. I sighed as I realized that there was nothing near to aid me.

Well then. I guess I'll have to stand on my own. This should be interesting. In my efforts to stand, I saw Kakashi sitting on this side of the tent. I felt bad. He must have slept through the night sitting upright. He needed real rest, that dum-dum. I slightly grunted as I fully stood up.

I felt happy that I was able to stand, but it was short lived. Under the pressure, my body began falling back to earth. In that instance, someone placed my left arm over their shoulder and wrapped a hand around me. I looked to this person expecting to see Kakashi, but he was still over in the corner sleeping.

"Neji?" I asked.

He tilted his face towards me with a smile. "You're supposed to be bed-ridden for a few days."

"Well, don't expect me to stay in bed all day. It's beautiful outside, and I want to see it."

"It's beautiful?" He asked with a puzzled expression. "You're blind and don't know what it looks like outside. Even using_ his_ eye, you haven't seen what it looks like outside yet."

I smiled. "Everyday is beautiful, Neji. The fact that now all of Konoha will lay aside their worries and troubles to help each other in rebuilding is beautiful. Everyone coming together for the sake of one another, that's wonderful, don't you think?"

He nodded. "You were near death, Nara. How do you think like that in times like this?"

"Think like what?"

"You can still look at the world and find good in it. Konoha was brought to its knees and was nearly annihilated."

"It's funny, you know."

"Hmm? What is?"

"Even if Konoha was completely destroyed, the sun would have still risen this fine morning. Children in other countries would play with their parents. Animals would still commit to their daily lives. There's no reason staying in the past when the sun shines down with the invitation to a new day."

His smile returned. "Let's look at this gorgeous day then." He helped me limp towards the tent opening. He parted the tent and we walked through. The sun kissed down on our faces. The wind blew gently. I could hear people working and children going over their objectives.

I could sense chakra in Konoha, but I was still too week to tell whose chakra belonged to who. It didn't matter at this moment anyway since the person I wanted to hide from spoke to my right.

"Nara-sensei! What are you doing out of bed?!"

"Ah, Sakura." I began. "I just wanted to see the beautiful day." I exclaimed.

"Fine. Look at it, and get back in there."

"Pushy today, aren't you?"

"Do you have any idea what your injuries were like?! You had several holes all the way through your body. Your body has to recuperate."

"What missions do the children have today?"

"Huh? Why?" she asked.

I offered a smile. "I would like to watch over them."

"Under no circumstance." Shizune said behind Sakura. Great, I probably have no way of winning this argument. I changed my eyes to grant me vision.

"Let me watch over them. Most of them know me. They won't be trouble. Anyway, you could place the person over them to another position."

I was surprised when I didn't hear an automatic 'no'. So there's hope? I heard them both sigh.

Sakura spoke. "Please, Nara… just rest for two more days."

"Two more days in bed?" I asked.

"It would do you so good." Came a voice from behind me. I didn't have to look because I recognized it as Kakashi's.

"Three against one, huh?"

"Actually, Nara-sensei, I agree with them as well." Said Neji.

"I guess four means I'm beat." I said with a light smile. I knew they all meant good, but I hate just lying on a bed inside when I could offer some help.

I saw Naruto round around the woodpile. He defeated the other pains, and he was already out and about. "Now, that's not fair." I stated with a smile.

Naruto looked to me and observed the situation. I could actually see him analyzing what the conversation was about.

"Now, Nara!" Shizune began. "You took more holes into your body."

I sighed my defeat.

"Also, Nara," I heard Naruto enter the conversation, "your crystal jutsu is a powerful technique to create, and you used it a lot during the attack. You were more worn out than I was."

"Huh. What ever happened, you killed five pains, and I could only get one." I stated.

"But I had Sage Mode, Nara. You saved the village by simply being you. No help from the dragon. I went berserk and the kyuubi came out. You really are amazing." He said with a smile and then ran off to help someone with the logs.

I looked over to Sakura and saw happiness in her eyes. She looked away from him and straight into my eyes.

"Nara-sensei, I need you to go back into the tent for me to examine your wounds, and only then will I consider letting you help today." Neji helped me back into the tent. I watched the silent conversation in Neji and Kakashi's eyes as they passed.

He sat me in the chair and Kakashi was close to where I sat. Sakura entered and asked Neji to exit while she examined me. He was told to make sure no one but Shizune entered.

Kakashi looked to Sakura. "I'm allowed to stay?" He asked.

"I will need your help." She said simply.

"What do you need me to do?" He asked. I looked up at him in silent admiration. His hair was messier than ever, and he wasn't wearing his forehead protector, so I could see more of his face than usual. He still had that eye closed of course, but I found him to be incredibly handsome.

"I need to clean her wounds." Sakura said. She grabbed a bowl of water and a piece of cloth. She down beside the chair I sat in. "If you don't mind helping me lift up her shirt a little bit."

"Are you okay with that, Nara?" He asked.

"It has to be done I suppose." I replied. He stood in front of me, closed his other eye, and lifted my shirt. Only my stomach was exposed. Sakura unwrapped the gauze. She examined my wounds.

I glanced over to her curiously.

She smiled. "You're healing faster than I expected even with that dragon. After just one night, your cells have completely restored the holes in your body. Your regeneration is second to none, even compared to Naruto."

She wrapped new cloth around my stomach and worked on my other wounds. Overall, she was happy with how everything was turning out.

"I'm I allowed to do anything today?" I asked. I felt so childish. I was asking permission from her.

She thought for a moment. "It bothers me. All the areas are still open except the one through your stomach. Maybe since chakra mostly holds in the stomach, it was able to heal quicker. Your other wounds are still open. I want you to stay in bed."

Well, that ruined my day. "For how long?" I asked.

"A week."

"A week? I can't stay inside for a week."

"As a medical ninja, I'm going to make sure you don't do anything, Nara." I sighed. Everyone else would agree with her, even Kakashi. It was pointless to argue.

Sakura stared at me curiously for a few moments. "Something wrong?" I asked.

"You didn't reply. With me, you always reply with a sharp comment."

"Not always." I said with a smile.

She walked towards the tent's exit. "I'm keeping my eyes on you, Nara."

"I'll keep that in mind." I simply replied.

.: :.

I couldn't sleep. Memories would still haunt me, but it was all my memories combined. It wasn't just with my father, but also with Pain. He really wanted to change the world. In the end, he made a great change in himself.

I rose up off the ground. I can't sleep in here with Sakura trying to watch my every move. At least now, she was asleep. I reached over for a stick I had Kota search for me earlier. It was stable enough to hold my balance.

Kota woke up beside me. "You're really going out?" He asked.

I nodded. "Lying down all day isn't my thing." Even though it was almost morning, yesterday I did as Sakura told me to. I stayed in the tent and read while everyone else worked. I tried to sleep during the night, but it's always been difficult for me to sleep well.

I stabled the stick in the ground and gently pulled myself up. I positioned the walking stick against me to help hold me up.

"Where are we going?" Kota asked.

"Today, we'll bring everyone lunch. It will take all morning to prepare." I replied.

"How will we haul the food back?"

"I know someone who will loan me a horse and a wagon for a few hours." We walked towards the opening in the tent. I looked back and saw Kakashi sitting up next to where I attempted to sleep. His eyes were closed, and he looked like he would fall over.

We walked out and traveled to the man's house. He already said I could borrow a horse and wagon anytime I needed to, but I wanted him to know. However, it was still early morning and I didn't want to wake the old man up. I left him a note explaining that it was I borrowing the horse and wagon and that we'd return it around noon.

I saddled the horse to the topless wagon and we rode quietly towards the forest. We'd be able to find plenty of animals, fruit, herbs, and fish in that forest.

"How much food should we bring back?" Kota asked.

"Enough for everyone. All the merchants are having to rebuild homes and shops, so food is hard to buy at the moment."

I sat on the wagon as Kota told the horse where to go. The horse was understanding and very tamed. I threw a kunai into a bush, and Kota jumped after the dead rabbit. I threw several other kunai in different directions. Kota retrieved them all.

I grabbed the walking stick and a sack, and I walked underneath a tree. I used my wind jutsu to cut the stems of the fruits as they fell into the sack.

Kota placed the game on the wagon. "You sure you should be using your chakra right now? You've never been this weak before, Nara."

"I'm just cutting a few stems. It's not all that much chakra anyway."

"Since I know you well, you're going to use your fire jutsu to already have the food cooked by the time we arrive in the village."

"Yeah. No need having everyone wait if they are hungry."

"Remember that you are supposed to be recovering."

"That's why you're helping Kota."

"What do you mean?"

"So I don't over do it." I stated with a smile. When it comes to helping people, I never know when to stop.

After about an hour of searching for game and gathering apples, I decided to catch some fish. Kota and I both attacked and retrieved the fish.

Once we had everything caught and dead, I used my fire jutsu and placed the fish on sticks over the fire. While the fish cooked, I used my wind chakra very carefully and cut off the fur from the game. I began breathing heavily and I bent over from the exhaustion.

"Nara." Kota said and ran to my side.

"I'm fine. Really." I stated with a weak smile. "I guess I was weaker than I thought." I stood up straight. "Anyway, we're almost done here."

Using my fire technique again, I directed it at the dead animals. Once I decided they were cooked, I stopped the jutsu. I still breathed heavily, but this should be enough for now.

"Ready to head back?" I asked to Kota.

"Yeah. Nara," he began with a smile, "you have a kind heart, you know."

With that, he wrapped all the fish together in the cloth and brought them over to the wagon. As I picked the fish up and laid it on the cart, he was wrapping the cooked meat and bringing it to me.

Once everything was on the cart, I sat down and let out a deep breath. "Alright, let's go." I said.

Kota looked to the horse and led the way. The horse followed without hesitancy. I could sense the people in Konoha. They were all working hard and diligently. The children even did their part by gathering water.

As we came closer to the tent I was supposed to be in, I could hear the conversation about me.

"Where would she have gone off to?" Sakura asked.

"It's Nara." Kakashi exclaimed. "She goes where she wants."

"How can you say that, Kakashi-sensei!? You need to look after your woman better." She said.

"Kakashi's right." Replied Gai. "She's skilled and strong. She'll be fine."

"That's not the point!" Sakura yelled. "I told her that I would keep a close eye on her, and then she still sneaks right past me."

"She is Konoha's stealthiest ninja after all." Kakashi remarked.

"She has to let her wounds heal, though."

I only spoke loud enough for Kota to hear me. "Hey, Kota, I'm going to go sit in those trees over there, alright."

"Typical Nara. You go through all this trouble, but you don't want them to know it was you."

I reached for my walking stick and began to stand. It proved difficult since I used some jutsu earlier, but I could make it to the trees. Once I was in the shadow of the trees, Kota resumed the cart. I knew they would know I got all the food because Kota had to lead the horse all the way to the end, but from here, I could stay undetected.

They all heard the sound of the rolling cart and looked in its direction. So they finally notice? They should have a little sharper skill than that.

"Is that Nara?!" Sakura yelled and began to walk towards the cart, but stopped and looked at the contents.

Once Kota made it to them, he stopped the horse.

"Nara's not here right now." Kota said in reply to Sakura.

"Then where is she?"

"Enjoying the day." He said simply.

"She got all this food by herself?" Gai asked.

"She killed it and I helped put it on the cart." Kakashi walked over to Kota and patted the black wolf's head.

"Good boy." He said.

I heard a few gasps from children near the cart. "It that… for us?" they asked.

Sakura smiled brightly and began to hand out the food to everyone. I watched as women, men, and children ate the food.

I saw Kakashi bend down to Kota, and I knew they were having a conversation. In the next moment, Kakashi vanished, and I sensed him right behind me.

He sat down beside me on the branch. "You caused quite a ruckus, you know."

"That sounds familiar."

"So, why aren't you down there eating with everyone?" He asked as he placed his hand over mine.

"I'd rather feel their smiles from back here. It's more spontaneous and private."

"Have you already eaten?"

I reached up and picked an apple. "This will be fine for now." I said.

"Funny how you are a vegetarian, but you brought this village meat and fish."

"I'm mostly vegetarian. I know meat is essential to the body, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I will eat it, though. Aren't you hungry?"

"I wanted to check up on you first. Anyway, you will be in big trouble once Sakura finds you."

"You mean when I choose to be found."

"I found you." He said with a smile in his voice.

"Yeah, but you're the only person Kota would give my location to."

He shrugged. "You still didn't show yourself, and I still found you."

He pulled me closer to him and wrapped his arm around me. He held me close and kissed my forehead through his mask.

"Next time," he said, "at least tell me where you're going."

"I'll consider it." I said and looked at him with a grin.

He placed his other hand under my legs and lifted me off the branch. He swiftly landed on the ground, balanced. He placed my feet on the ground, but kept his arm around me. I leaned against him since I still can't stand on my own.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"You're going to show your face to those wonderful people."

"Wait, Kakashi-" I said, but he already started walking towards the cart. I was dragged/carried along. In my state of weakness, I wouldn't be able to run off with him unable to sense my chakra. True, he still can't sense my chakra, but I can't run off on my own right now. Limping, I can do, but that's kind of obvious.

I saw Sakura's deadly eyes lock on me. They were strict at first, so I offered a light smile and rubbed my head. They changed to understanding and kindness. She handed an apple and the leg of a bird to a young boy.

The young boy's eyes lit up as if they sparkled. "Miss, did you catch all this food?" He asked.

Sakura bent down and pointed in my direction. "That woman brought all this food. Her name is Nara." She said.

The boy's smile widened and he ran at me. He gave me a hug, and I paused. "Thank you, Nara-sama." With that, all the children began crowding around me and giving slight hugs of gratitude. I was astonished that so many of them hugged me. Even the elders began to hug and thank me. I looked over to Kakashi and I could tell he was smiling.

Once the crowd began to dwindle, Sakura approached me. Neji was along side her. It sure seems like everywhere I am the past few days, Neji is right there as well.

"Nara-sensei, I told you-"

I interjected. "I already know what you told me, so there's no need in repeating it."

"But you didn't listen to them, so there's a reason why I should say them again."

"I heard them, but I didn't obey."

"You refused to listen to me." She said.

I shrugged. "Telling me that I can't go outside, is like saying that you can't have meals in a day. Food is essential to life, but it's not something you _need_ everyday."

"Nara…" she began, but stopped.

"I understand that I need to rest to recuperate. While resting in a bed may help most, sleep doesn't come easily to me. I feel refreshed when I'm outside in the sunlight."

I saw her look to Kakashi, and he simply nodded. This time, Sakura sighed. "Fine. But, you have to have someone with you at all times in case you need something. Understood?"

"Who will be the person?"

"I'll volunteer." Neji stepped forward. "If you don't have a problem with it, Nara-sensei."

"I have no problem." I said with a smile. I do want to know why he tags along with me lately. Gai put his thumb up at Neji.

"Good job, Neji!"

I looked Kakashi. He looked into my eyes, and I could tell that he and Gai have had personal conversations. Somehow Neji and I were involved.


	16. Meeting of Kages

**| "Be a voice, not an echo." |**

**| "You know my name, not my story. You've heard what I've done, not what I've been through." |**

* * *

"Tsunade-sama." I said.

"What is it, Nara?"

I handed her several stacks of reports. "Are you sure you want to take me to the Kage meeting?"

"We've already gone over this." She said as she stamped a report and put it in the completed pile.

"Then why me? If you don't mind me asking." I looked to Shizune. Only Kakashi and I were told to come to the meeting with Tsunade. While we're gone, Shizune will watch over Konoha, but I hoped she didn't feel ill towards me since Tsunade chose me.

"I received a letter for all the kages to meet in ten days. We were told to bring two of our most reliable shinobi. You and Kakashi fall under my qualifications."

"What about Skikaku? He has been in the midst of war unlike me."

"Quit selling yourself short, Nara. You've faced your battles. You are going with me."

This was the third time I have brought this up. It was time to quit being such a nuisance. "Sorry, Tsunade-sama."

"Nara." Shizune said from behind the stacks of papers. "Don't worry, alright. I'm a medical ninja, not a skilled shinobi. I'm fine with staying behind. I will still be helping in anyway that I can." She said with a smile.

I nodded and returned the smile.

.: :.

Kakashi, Tsunade, and I left two days ago. We were almost to the site of our meeting. I could already sense two kages with their two chosen shinobis.

"You sense them?" Tsunade asked.

"Yeah. They are about four kilometers away."

"How many are there already?"

"Two kages with their shinobi. I don't recognize any of them, though."

I heard Kakashi stretch in front of me. "What is this meeting all about anyway?" He asked.

"I'm not too sure. Maybe they want to appoint our reliable shinobi as captains of certain squads. But, we won't be absolutely sure until we arrive."

We made it to the fort, and we offered our letter to ensure whom we were. The samurai backed away and allowed us to enter.

"From hearing stories of the last meeting, I'm glad we're not meeting in the frigid cold." Tsunade retorted.

"Yeah. I didn't go to the meeting, but I was still in that bitter weather." Kakashi responded.

One of the guards approached us. "I will lead you to the meeting room."

"Thank you." Tsunade said. "But if you're needed here, we can find it just fine."

"If you can find it with no troubles, then I am needed here. Do you know the way?"

"Down this corridor, up the stairs, take two lefts, up more stairs on the right, then the room is located twelve doors to the left?" I asked with a smile.

He hesitated for a moment while going through the route to get to the room. "Yes, I believe that is correct."

"Thank you, sir." I said. Tsunade and Kakashi walked ahead of me and I followed in behind them. Once we made it the top of the first flight of stairs, Tsunade turned around to face me.

"Nara, I want you to lead the rest of the way."

It made sense why. I nodded. "Yes, Tsunade-sama." I turned left and followed the hallway. Then I made another left. I began to walk up the stairs when Tsunade spoke.

"Why do you always walk behind someone?"

"What do you mean?"

"Even with Kakashi, you're always a step behind him. Why do you do that?"

"Well, I'm not doing that now."

"You were before I asked you to lead."

"I really don't know why I do that, Tsunade-sama." She didn't reply. At the top, we turned left again and walked twelve doors down.

I stopped beside the door and allowed the Hokage to enter first. That was how it should be. She placed her hand on the doorknob and opened it. She walked in holding herself high. Kakashi followed her, and I followed in after Kakashi. A step behind him.

"Ah, Tsunade. You made it in a decent amount of time." Said the man to the far left.

"Didn't want to get here too early or too late, you know." She pulled out a chair and sat down. Kakashi and I stood behind her chair.

The longer I stayed in the room, the more I could sense the others observing me. I wonder if they had figured that I was blind.

That's when I sensed three chakras pointed in our direction. With each step they took, I had no doubt about whom they were. I bent down to Tsunade's side. "Tsunade-sama. I sense Gaara and his two shinobi approaching."

"Good. Good. We're all getting here at decent times."

After about an hour, I sensed six other chakras. "Tsunade-sama. I believe I sense the other kages."

One of the kages spoke. "That means we all arrived at decent times, then."

My body still hasn't recuperated from when Pain plunged his weapons into me. My body has healed the holes, but the toll it brought on my body was hard to endure easily now and then.

I placed my weapons against the wall. I considered sitting to rest, but what signal would that portray to everyone else. A pain coursed through my body and I leaned against the wall. For now, I'm going to sit on the floor.

Kakashi looked to me in his curious way. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah." I replied with a smile. "I just need to sit for a moment." I didn't hear him move his head, so that infers that he was still looking at me in his concerned way.

We waited as one by one, the kages with their shinobi entered the room and sat at their appointed chairs. I felt happiness when Gaara entered. He was so young, and he was already a kage. Just like me, he has wisdom beyond his years that qualify him to be a kage. He hasn't been in the midst of war, but I think he can understand better than anyone else unaware of war of how to deal with the war inside himself. He had to deal with the Bijuu.

Three more chakras entered the room, and they weren't the kages. I rose up from the ground, but inwardly grunted from the agony. The man sat across the table from Tsunade and folded his hands. Was he the commander of the samurai?

"Thank you all for agreeing to the Shinobi Allied Forces. I have gathered you here to figure out something important and crucial to this war."

"What will that be?" One of the kages asked. It was a woman's voice.

"Istead of having five lead commands, you want one leader over us?" Tsunade asked.

The man nodded. "Exactly. That is why I have asked the kages to bring their two most reliable shinobi. In the ones you brought with you, that tells me they are skilled since you trust them with your life, kages. On top of that, the two you brought are people you would consider taking your kage position if anything ever happened.

I felt all the kages nod their head, even Tsunade nodded. She trusted Kakashi and I that much? To the point that she would happily give Konoha to us with trust and happiness?

"All right. Now, I want the kages to address their village and the shinobi they brought with them. Clan and name."

All the kages went in the circle and gave the information the Samurai Commander requested.

"From the Hidden Village of Leaves, I have brought Hatake Kakashi, and Nara."

All the kages' and shinobis' focus averted to me now. The man across from us spoke. "I asked for her clan name as well."

"She doesn't have a clan." Tsunade replied plainly.

I couldn't tell if the people were observing me with sympathy or judgment. I stood there underneath all their stares. To not have a clan means disownment. It's almost unheard of for someone to not belong to a clan. Even rogue ninjas still stated their clan name.

"I see." The commander spoke. He signaled for the samurai to pass something out. They walked around the room and handed all the shinobi pieces of paper.

"I want all of you, minus the kages, to wright down your strengths and weaknesses. Honesty is the key of whether we win the war right now in this room. List the elements you can use. Put down extra jutsu you can create through your elements and the attributes of them. List any missions where you encountered Akatsuki or Orochimaru." I sighed inwardly. Kabuto… Orochimaru. Ever since I was sixteen, I've been sent on mission after mission concerning them and Akatsuki.

He paused and glanced around the room. "Please record everything relevant. Sign your name on the back. We will pick the top two from the information on the front. This way, gender and," I felt his eyes landed on me, "natural hindrances won't shade us away from an excellent leader."

He rose from his seat. "Alright. I ask that all of you leave to fill out those papers and return here in half an hour."


	17. Yosokage

**| The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen." | Elisabeth Kubler-Ross**

**| "It's not too late, it's never too late." | Three Days Grace**

* * *

.:Nara:.

I walked through the building. It felt like the weight of the five countries were on my shoulders, and in a sense, they were. I had been appointed the kage of kages. They named me the Yosokage: the Elemental Shadow. I suppose it fits since I'm over the five kages and I am able to use all five elemental jutsu.

Still… it's quite a bit to take in. I smiled. It's kind of ironic, too. I never wanted to be well known, and now, here I am. All the nations know my name. At least Shikaku and I went through the soldiers and divided them into five groups. And now, I'm appointed the Commander-and-Chief. I'm fine with that, but back in the meeting, I asked if I could also appoint one of the Captains as the second Commander-and-Chief: Gaara. He is rational and will think for the better of all five countries.

Kakashi walked beside me and he hadn't said much since the meeting. I really hope he doesn't think that I think any less of him since I didn't appoint him as the second Commander. I shook that thought aside. It's Kakashi. He wouldn't let something like that bother him.

Kakashi disrupted the silence. "I believe you made a wise decision, Nara-sama."

"There's no reason for you to address me like that. You know that I don't like it."

.:Kakashi:.

I smiled in return. "That's why I like saying it. It rubs you the wrong way." I laughed lightly.

She smiled, too. That's good. She not too overwhelmed to not smile. Then I saw the smile fade away from her face. She stopped walking and stared forward. I followed her gaze and saw a figure approach.

It was Nara's father. What is he doing here?

He walked up to us slowly. His eyes stayed on Nara, but he didn't have the same eyes as from back at his village. His eyes looked softer, and almost sad.

"Nara-sama." He whispered.

"Lord of the Isamu clan." She replied. I stood beside her when another figure materialized from the shadows. It was Akio.

The man before Nara had put her through so much mentally and physically, and now here he is standing before the Yosokage.

"Can I help you with something?" Nara asked through hurt words. With all the pain she's been through, she can push it aside like that. It's very admirable about her.

I watched in unbelief as a tear fell from her father's left eye. He bent to both of knees and sobbed through his words. "How can you ask me something like that, Nara-sama? After everything I put you through. I said you were worthless. I said that you were trash and a monster. How can you merely ask if you can help me with something?" He didn't make eye contact with Nara, so he stared at the floor.

My eyes changed to Nara. I could see her holding back the tears and all the pain of wanting to lash out. Knowing Nara, she isn't loud or ever yells. She understands even when she was the one beaten into the dust.

Her father continued. "I didn't come here to make you feel worse about your life… I came here to apologize."

"What?" Nara said with surprise. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was open from her father's words.

He choked on sobs through his words. "I'm so very sorry. Everything I did to you- I just- when I saw you again after all those years… you were given a mission to protect the man that hated you. You completed it without harsh words and all I did was refer to you as being worthless." His hands balled into fists. "I'm so, so sorry, Nara… for everything I did. I've done unforgiveable things, but I hope that you at least don't suffer from that past."

Nara fell to her knees as a tear fell from her right eye. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself close to him. "Father, you have nothing to apologize for."

"But after everything I did to you…"

Nara smiled her gorgeous smile. "I forgave you all those years ago." His arms encircled Nara's small figure. She was always so strong in front of everyone about her past. She never spoke of it openly. But now, all her pain stood in front of her, and she still chose forgiveness. She is still young, but she has more wisdom than any of the kages.


	18. Reverse

**| "Monsters are real, ghosts are real, too. They live inside of us, and sometimes, they win." | Stephen King**

**| "You've got three choices in life: give up, give in, or **_**give it all you've got**_**." | Unknown**

.:Kakashi:.

Just when the sword was about to follow through, Nara's dragon sword flashed into the ground and stopped Tobi's attack.

"What a quick woman." Tobi said through gritted teeth.

In the next instance, wind engulfed around her and Tobi jumped back to escape it. What would have sliced through him, merely went through instead of causing any damage.

I scratched my head, "Thanks, Nara-sama."

She smiled with her face half-turned to me. "Don't call me something like that. We are shinobi, that's all."

"Hm." I grunted as I stood from the ground. "Your level is much higher than mine. I hope you know that." She pulled her dragon sword out of the ground. She rested it on top of her shoulder. Inari rested on her other shoulder.

A smile escaped on my lips. She was broad shouldered with a smaller style figure. Her small size didn't do justice to her strength, though. During the time that Naruto left with Jiraiya, Nara often visited the dragon realm to create a special style of sword. She based her idea off of her dragon armor jutsu. The dragons' scales would fall off, and she collected them. Similar to making any style of sword, she created her dragon sword. Only a dragon's breath could melt the scales to enable manipulation.

Just like Nara's jutsu, the sword can take on any physical attack with no problem. It took a whole year for her to make that sword.

"Whatever." She nonchalantly replied. "There's another chakra presence coming. I believe it is Madara's."

"Who is this guy then? This so-called Tobi."

"Something about him is vaguely familiar…" She said with distance in her voice. She searched her memories for the answer, but from the look on her face, nothing was coming to her.

"My, my. The great Nara-sama." Tobi said as Nara cringed. "It's an honor to be in the presence of the famous Yosokage."

Naruto lashed forward, "Why you-!" Nara reached out her hand without moving from her spot. Naruto stopped running in his tracks, and as Nara pulled her hand back, Naruto was pulled backwards.

"Naruto, we need to assimilate a plan." She spoke.

"Assimilate?" He questioned with a dumb-founded look on his face.

"We need a plan before we dive head first at him. Remember, he is interested in capturing you." I interjected.

"Not just him, but also _her_." Tobi stated as he pointed his right index finger directly at Nara. I glanced over to her, but she appeared unfazed. She quickly bit her thumb and prepared the summoning jutsu. Masashi appeared.

"I need more chakra." Nara stated.

"How many have you already sapped?" Masashi asked.

She lowered her head and walked toward Masashi. "Three. Please forgive me." She placed her hand lightly on his scales and began to sap out his energy.

"You've opened our eyes. To end this strife, I freely give everything I can. Obviously, you've given all you have. Four times already. Don't forget to seek medical assistance once this battle ends." She nodded her head. "I will teleport back to Saya with the others and eat of the special fruit. Call on us if something terrible happens."

I saw life coming back to her stance since she stood up straighter. She withdrew her hand, and Masashi exhaled a huge breath and disappeared. Inari jumped form Nara to my shoulder.

"Kakashi-san, Nara has told me to stay with you during this battle. I can connect telepathically to her."

"I see. Well, do we have a plan yet?" I asked. Guy and Bee looked to each other and shrugged lightly.

"Madara is getting closer. We need to try to hinder Tobi." Guy spoke with a lower voice than usual.

"Where are our reinforcements?" I asked to Nara. She was the one leading them.

"I left them with other squads. Even though I pulled most of the weight in the run, they still went through some of their chakra." Tobi gathered energy and performed signs. Fear engulfed me when I saw chakra building and forming the Ten-Tails.

"Kakashi, is that-" Guy began, but couldn't form the words from shock.

"Yeah. It's the Ten-Tails." My eyes averted to Nara as she wrapped her arms around her and shrunk to the ground in pain. She breathed heavily and grunted.

"Nara-chan!" Inari yelled out. Everyone in the group looked to her in worry. "Are you all right?" She sat on her knees close to the ground.

Naruto switched with the Kyuubi, "She is a fine chakra sensory type all right. With the Ten-Tails chakra near, it is hard for her to keep stable and focus. There's just too much for her to even see any of us."

I glided to her side and wrapped my arm around her. I hoisted her off the ground and helped her stay upright. Her right hand gripped over her brow from the pain.

"It… hurts." She stammered.

"You were made perfectly for him, Nara." Tobi spoke from his distance. "He beckons for you to approach him."

"What… do you mean?" She questioned through her migraine.

A maniacal laugh protruded from him. "Never mind that." Nara gritted her teeth from his response.

"Naruto," her face glanced back to him, "Attack him. Keep him occupied." He nodded in reply and took off like the Yellow Flash. "Kakashi, you, too."

"What are you planning?" I asked with concern.

She averted the question. "Just attack him." I let go of her slowly and saw that she could stand by herself. I took off as well.

During the fight, I realized that he was Obito. My old friend…

I glanced over to Nara and saw her setting seals. My eyes grew huge when I realized what she was doing. She infused her index finger with chakra and began writing in the air in front of her. My heart dropped from what the word said: reverse.

I pushed passed the others and ran toward her. "Nara! Stop, don't do this!" Everyone's eyes, even Obito's, changed to her as she finished drawing the yin-yang sign over the word 'reverse'. I saw a tear fall from her left eye as she drew her right hand back and snapped her fingers.

"Break." She stated with her eyes closed. The word along with the yin-yang sign broke and clashed with the ground. Bright lights swirled around her small figure as she smiled to me for the last time…

The lights overtook her and transformed her into Raiden, the dragon that was sealed inside her. I stopped in my tracks as I fell to my knees. \

"Kakashi, what just happened?" Naruto asked as he ran up to my side. "Where is Nara? And what is that?!" He pointed to the dragon in front of us.

"She switched places with the dragon that was sealed inside of her." I replied through deep breaths.

"Why couldn't she just release the power like Bee and I?" Naruto questioned.

"The dragon isn't a Bijuu. If she released him while he was sealed inside of her, she would have died."

"But why?" Guy asked next to me. Bee landed beside Guy.

"Raiden was never a Tailed-Beast, but he was appreciated by the Father of Ninjas. He asked the Ninja to seal him inside of humans to learn about them. He wanted to know if we were as power greedy as his kind believed." My hand balled into a fist. "Out of thirty-seven people, Nara was the only one who never used his power to its full extent. She only used his eyes because she was blind."

"Where is she now?" Guy asked.

"Chained inside of Raiden, just like a Tailed-Beast."

"Can it be undone? Like can she be released?" Naruto asked.

Raiden's deep voice entered our ears, "She can be pulled out of me, but it takes a highly classed ninja to do so for this scenario."

"But the Akatsuki took the Bijuu out of the Jinjuuriki; can't something like that be done?" Guy questioned.

The dragon shook his head. "I was not initially a Bijuu, and neither is Nara. Doing that would kill her." He closed his eyes.

"Why did she do this?" Bee bellowed.

The dragon's eyes opened slowly. "She could see that she was going to be used in the Akatsuki's plans. She wants to save as many people as she can, even if she has to lay her own life down." I saw a black figure glide past us and landed next to Raiden's stomach. Obito pressed his hand on the sealing and then he disappeared. Madara began to fight us as our reinforcements arrived.

"Kakashi, what all has happened?" Shikaku asked me through telepathy.

I explained everything.

.:Nara:.

_How could I have been such an idiot, _my mind echoed. _I should have realized that Kakashi's left eye is the same chakra as Obito… why couldn't I have put the two together?_

"How were you able to come in here?" I asked Obito as he walked across the water. It was so quiet, yet it was so unnerving outside of this sealing.

"You are quite difficult to catch, you know." He replied.

"You haven't caught me." I countered. He walked past the sealing gates and into my holding cell. I was bound by chains and my arms were spread apart along with my legs. I was powerless.

"True I suppose." He paused and circled around my chained body. "So, how is it that the Akatsuki can catch the seven tailed beasts, but when it comes to you, you find ways of escaping? You and the Nine-Tails."

"What about the Eight-Tails?" I interjected. "You think you're all high and mighty, but you haven't caught all your pawns."

He lifted my chin up to his eye level, "You are the whole reason this idea will become reality."

I jerked away from his grip. "Reality? Genjutsu isn't reality. It's false, and not everyone is affected by it." I remarked.

"You know, Nara, I remember seeing a small little girl the night I controlled the Kyuubi. Once he was out of my control, I know he saw you, I know he sensed you. But… why didn't he attempt to kill you?"

I held my breath. That night has haunted me along with the memories from my past. It made me wonder why he allowed me to live. I felt his presence. He looked directly at me that night. I could feel his eyes on me as I looked back to him.

"The next day, Kakashi found your helpless body. I wanted to know why he put aside the fact that you could've been from a different country, since you were."

"You know nothing about me." I countered.

I could feel his smile, "I know enough. You were a young, self-taught prodigy. You never wanted praise from other people, you merely wanted to be accepted. Your father casted you out, but what a dear daughter of you to still forgive him."

"You apparently need to be updated. My father met with me before the war and apologized for everything."

His hand lashed out and tightened around my neck. "A simple apology? That's it? What a fool for him to think that everything he did could be forgotten by just saying 'sorry'."

His grip tightened. "Some of us have better things to do than become bitter from our past, Obito. Kakashi told me that you were his best friend… your apparent death hurt him terribly."

"That's not a world that I want. I want one with no death. One where the ones who are already dead can be brought back to life."

"Rin is dead, Obito. Nothing can change that." I stated. His grip loosened, but I still felt his smile present.

"With the Ten-Tails, everything can change." My body was being pulled away from the huge rock I was chained against. The chains rattled as my body was being lifted from their bondage. I struggled against him. Even if he released this sealing and saved me in the process, I can only be used to progress the Ten-Tails, and I don't want that.

He pulled strongly against my already weakened state. The next thing I knew, my body collapsed on the ground next to Raiden's foot. "Nara!" He yelled out in surprise. I breathed heavily against the ground.

Obito's hand gripped my shirt and hoisted my off the ground. He pulled me into his arms and jumped away from my friends. We landed next to Madara on top of the Ten-Tails. He bellowed out a giant roar for all of the reinforcements to hear. His chakra made my body grow weak from the amount that he reeked in.

"So that's the one?" Madara asked.

"She's the one." Obito responded. He put me down and I had the energy to stand by myself. I wished I had my giant dragon sword, but my bladed tonfas will do. I unsheathed my them and took a strike at Obito as I sent the second one flying toward Madara.

The one passed straight through Obito and Madara took a direct hit, but he was dead already.

"Feisty one, isn't she?" Madara laughed. "I think I like her." The Ten-Tails moved its head, which caused me to lose my balance. Obito reached out his arm to steady me and brought his lips to mine. The action was so unpredictable. From my weakened state, I couldn't move away.

His chakra left his body and invaded mine. It flowed down my neck and out to my arms and legs. A substance protruded from my body and latched me onto the Ten-Tails. Obito pulled away and I let out an exhausted breath. I attempted to move my arms, but the substance white Zetsu was made out of was what bound me to the demon.

"I'm glad you weren't a guy." Obito smirked.

Madara chuckled beside him, "You didn't have to infuse that chakra into her through a kiss, but I'm sure it was more enjoyable."

My feet began to disappear into the monster. His chakra raided mine. He shared his eyes with me and granted me vision. I saw as he did. Our eyes were now connected. Did this work similar to the six Rinnegans?

"Why are you doing this, Madara?" I asked through the pain of the Ten-Tails coursing through me.

"It will be a world where I am king. I am the most powerful shinobi, and that world will be befitting for me." Obito and Madara reached their right hands out to me. Can they do something similar to what I do to another's chakra? I felt even more energy seeping away from me. I sunk knee deep into the Beast's skin.

"He's almost reached the maturity stage." Obito reported.

"He will become difficult to control then." Madara responded. "But that's why we have her."

I grunted from the bondage. "What good am I to you?" The Ten-Tails gathered power into his mouth. He compressed the light and dark chakra into a ball and released it. I held my breath when it struck a few kilometers away. So they're just showing the Allied Force his power over distance.

I breathed heavily. The Ten-Tails was drawing power through me to compress his attacks. How was this even possible? Can't he just do it by himself if he's so high and mighty?

Obito stepped up next to me. "Your suppression skills are second to none. You will aid us in controlling this beast." He's going to rest his plan on my shoulders? Doesn't he know I will stop this whatever the cost?

"We just have to keep her in check. Right, Obito." Madara snickered. "She was just freed from her dragon sealing, now she's going to become an actual jinjuriki."

"I believe you overestimate me if you think I can suppress this monster."

_Nara?_ Shikaku's voice entered my mind.

_Yeah. It's me._ I responded.

_What's your situation?_

_The Ten-Tails is feeding off of my power. Obito and Madara are going to try to make me a holder for the beast._

_Can you tell us anything about this monster? Any weak points?_

It's a constant battle between this monster and I. I'm too busy concentrated on escaping this hell instead of figuring out this monster.

The Ten-Tails began forming another compressed ball of chakra. I held my breath when I realized where he was aiming for. The Headquarters.

_I feel his chakra directed towards us._ HQ sounded in my head.

_I feel it, too… I… I can't stop it._

_Thank you for all your help. You're one for the history books._

_Being famous really isn't my thing._ I replied back and he left the signal.

The beast finished preparing his compressed chakra. I gritted my teeth. If Obito and Madara believe that I can hold the Ten-Tails, then maybe I can find the power to redirect his power…

The Ten-Tails released his power. I held my breath. Was I able to stop it?

Obito returned to the battle against Kakashi and they both disappeared in to the Kumai.

"Why couldn't you just stay dead?" I spat out to Madara. The Ten-Tails still attempted to pull me into his body.

"Ideas make the dead relive, Nara-chan." Blood dripped down my nose from the inward battle with the Beast.

"But you're still dead. That fact can't be overlooked." I countered. "Why do you two need me? IF you two think you're so powerful, then handle it by yourselves." I provoked.

"Feisty and quite a mouth. I like you even more and more, Nara-chan."

"I'm not your friend, so don't call me that." I remarked. He placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Maybe we could've been friends if I lived in your time." He smiled to me, but it was a devilish grin.

My migraine became worse and more energy sapped from me. I sunk to my waist in the Beast. I looked down to the troops and saw that Inari summoned some of the dragons. I was sad by their expressions. Masashi fought against the beast to get closer to me.

The Ten-Tails fought against him and some of the Allied Forces. I could feel life forces draining to nothing. One of them was Neji…

A tear fell from my eye. I couldn't stop this monster's rampage. I felt four more advanced chakras enter into the Forces. _This… is that the Third Hokage?!_

I looked down and found the Third standing next to Naruto and the other Hokages. Sasuke entered the group next to Naruto as well. Madara joined the fight and left me to suffer against this beast. Good riddance.

A barrier trapped the beast. The Fourth entered it along with the First. I shut my eyes, unable to move, as the First brought down his sword to attack. I heard a clash of weapons and opened my eyes.

"Kid, what are you doing?!" the First yelled out.

It was Naruto. "She's one of us! I won't let you kill her!"

"Naruto!" I yelled out at him. "If I die, then their plans have less of a percentage of succeeding. Don't hesitate!"

"I won't let you die!"

"I'm just one person." I told him.

"You're _the_ person that learned all five elements. You're _the_ person that was blind, but became one of the greatest shinobi of our time. You're _the_ person that brought the Allied Force together and helped us trust each other."

The First Hokage stared at me in awe from Naruto's words. He pulled back his sword and looked to Naruto. The man with the Kyuubi stepped forward, "And you're the person that has overcome many obstacles. Now, it's time to overcome this one, Nara-sama." He has never showed such respect to anyone that I've heard.

After accepting Naruto's words, an idea popped in my head.

"Naruto, I want you to gather Raiden, Bee and the dragons. I want you guys to send forth your most powerful attacks at this blasted beast."

"What about you?" He questioned.

I exerted some chakra and forcefully pulled out my left arm. "I will escape. I want the kages to keep up a barrier."

"How will you escape?" The First asked.

I smiled. "I can penetrate the barrier enough to get out. Reseal that spot once I escape." I grunted and pulled out my right hand.

Naruto hesitated, but I could see trust in his eyes. He sighed. "You've never given me a reason to not trust you." With that, he jumped down the Ten-Tails and gathered up Bee and the dragons.

"Go and tell the Hokages of the plan." I told the First. He took one last glance and jumped down the beast.

I pulled the rest of my body out of the beast. He roared out his frustration. Madara appeared next to me. "Going somewhere?" He questioned. I exerted chakra to my feet and jumped down the beast. Madara chased after me. I could feel everyone drawing in power to attack. I performed the seals for the dragon armor to cover my skin. Madara brought down his giant sword, but it didn't faze me. I pressed on. I pressed through the barrier

I exited the death hole and it was quickly resealed. Everyone finished preparing their attacks and they released it toward the Ten-Tails. I performed more seals as I ran as fast as I could. I stopped several feet away from the barrier.

In a flash, I performed a giant sphere of the dragon armor to hold in the destruction. I kept running, but retained the armor. The power of the attacks bypassed the barrier and it looked for another exit. The dragon armor began to deteriorate against the explosion. I kept redoing the jutsu to reinforce it. A portion of it leaked out and struck my left leg. I yelled out my pain and quickly repaired the armor. Even though my leg ached with burning pain, I stood. Another attack leaked out and struck my left shoulder. I grunted from the impact and stepped back from the force. Blood oozed out of the opening and greeted the air. I felt the pressure of the explosion dissipate inside the barrier. I relaxed my muscles, but my body couldn't handle the stress it was under and crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

.:Kakashi:.

I raced over to her side and felt for a pulse on her neck. For the most part, she was fine. I exhaled a deep breath as Naruto rushed over. Nara turned slightly on the ground and coughed up blood. She gripped the dirt underneath her as the fresh pain coursed through her body. Tsunade raced towards us.

A tear fell down Nara's cheek. "I… I can't feel my left leg." Masashi looked over my shoulder. I looked up and saw Obito standing before us.

I readied my hand on Nara's weapon that was on my back. Nara coughed up more blood while Tsunade examined her leg. Sakura examined her left shoulder.

He averted his eyes to me. "She rejected the Ten-Tails. Do you know what that means, Kakashi?" I merely glared back. "It means that she is the descendant of the great Father of Ninjas."

I heard Nara cough up more blood.

"He has many descendants." I added.

"Yes… But Nara and Naruto are the ones enabled to pull out his will."

"What do you mean?!" Naruto yelled out.

"You're both from the Uzumaki clan. You are both half Uzumaki and half another clan. He said that one day his chosen two would be able to fully enter sage mode and even change the dragons."

"What point are you trying to make?!" Masashi called out by Nara's side.

Obito stared at me. "They care for others above themselves." No one interrupted his statement. "When I exerted my chakra into Nara, I could see deep within her. I could see her true motives and desires. What's made her so strong is her desire to protect people."

He continued. "For Naruto, he said he wanted to take all the hate from the world. He wanted to take it all on himself, so no one else would have to."

I gripped Nara's sword tighter. "What point are you trying to make?" A loud roar sounded from the barrier, as it shattered. The Ten-Tails was still alive.

Obito, my old friend, smiled. "I guess I'll have to go with plan B." With that, he raced away from us and toward the Ten-Tails…


End file.
